In recent years, terms such as "stock-oriented development" (存量发展, development based on existing assets) and "high-quality development" (高质量发展, development emphasizing sustainability, equity, and efficiency) have become increasingly prevalent in government documents and scholarly papers on urban planning in China. After four decades of rapid urbanization involving an unprecedented scale of...
It is an important factor that planners and urban planning experts need to understand how physical elements of streetscape contribute to the perception of safety in streetscapes. While the building regulations and development plans are amending due to the increased urbanization process. It is important to pay attention and maintain the safety of urban areas. However, the developers do not...
Despite growing recognition of environmental and social challenges requiring a shift from traditional development paradigms, planning tools and practices remain fundamentally growth-oriented, largely unchanged from their mid-20th century features. This contradiction manifests differently across planning traditions and national contexts.
Across Europe, from South to North, we see that in...
Tourism has been a crucial pillar of the Greek economy for decades. Following the end of the
Greek Civil War, political and economic strategies included programs and agreements aimed at
reforming the state, with the tourism sector playing a key role in this development. In recent years,
especially in the post-pandemic period, the tourism sector has recovered, attracting investments
that...
Urban space emerges as a dynamic arena where spatial, social, and political forces converge and interact. This research examines how the temporary use of public spaces during events can permanently transform perceived, conceived, and lived spaces. Events, through their capacity to reshape the form, function and meaning of public spaces, serve as key agents in this process of transformation....
A few months after hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG), we can already ask what the legacy of this event will be for tourism and, more specifically, for tourism stakeholders. This legacy is being built from the moment the Games are awarded to the city of Paris in 2017, in Lima. As the governance of the Games is complex, it is essential for each of the local stakeholders to assert...
Urban planning regulations are critical policy instruments for managing urban areas, influencing their sustainability, resilience, and equity. In the face of urban crises, such as expansion, housing shortages, and environmental degradation, these regulations can either promote compact, efficient development or contribute to unsustainable growth patterns. While emerging digital technologies,...
Due to its geographical location, Turkey has been and will continue to be exposed to major earthquakes at different times. This situation requires new buildings to be constructed with the performance to meet the earthquake risk on the one hand, and on the other hand, it requires the existing building stock to be made earthquake resistant. For second situation, two important policies in...
The study was carried out in order to reveal how migration is discussed in the urban design literature and in which contexts it is addressed. Migration is a concept that significantly affects space and social life in today's cities. This population movement, which started to increase in the second half of the last century, has accelerated even more in this century and has become observed on a...
Many planning theorists agree that justice is one, if not the primary, goal of planning. In planning practice and policymaking, phrases such as “inclusive planning” or “equitable design” also indicate the key role of justice considerations in the planning profession. A normative position towards justice issues is present in every planning task, albeit this stance often remains implicit....
Title
A Community Out of the Box: Understanding Flexibility and Justice through Self-organised Housing in the Netherlands
Introduction
The concept of flexibility, generally associated with the customisation of dwellings, has shifted to a more restrictive meaning, particularly in the context of housing emergencies. Temporary, mobile, modular, containerised, and prefab have become synonyms...
Introduction
The concept of flexibility, generally associated with the customisation of dwellings, has shifted to a more restrictive meaning, particularly in the context of housing emergencies. Temporary, mobile, modular, containerised, and prefab have become synonyms with flexible. In the Netherlands, flexwoningen (flexible housing) are primarily designed to accommodate migrant workers and...
This research identifies and conceptualizes the idea of a ‘Modern Mohalla’ and how it demonstrates intersectionality between formal and informal built environments via a feminist lens of lived experiences and their acts of ‘Mohalla-making’ in post-independence Pakistan. Taking the Government Housing Quarters of sector G-9/2 in Islamabad, Pakistan as the site of study where a Modern Mohalla is...
As global urbanization accelerates and carbon neutrality targets are pursued, urban metro transit has become a key element of sustainable transportation due to its efficiency, low emissions, and affordability. Meanwhile, the quality of first-and-last-mile connections plays a crucial role in metro accessibility(Zuo et al., 2020). In China, the rapid expansion of dockless shared bicycle services...
Large cities such as Berlin, Munich and Hamburg are the top German tourist destinations in absolute numbers, with over 26, 16 and 14 million overnight stays respectively in 2022 (INKAR, 2024). However, in terms of relative numbers, the sector of tourism plays a more significant role in less densely populated regions along the country’s coastline, in the Alps and in the southwest. In these...
This work examines manifold connections between memory, urban landscape and trauma in the course of two events that were, and still remain, crucial in shaping the image of city Sarajevo, the 1984 Winter Olympic Games and the War 1992 - 1995. Focusing on the Olympic Mountain Trebević, an extreme case of urban landscape that is fragmented and fractured on two parts with a deeply contested polity...
The need for justice is particularly acute in public space: a critical site in which democracy is expressed and differences negotiated and affirmed (Harvey, 1992; Low, 2013; Mitchell, 2003). The design, distribution, and accessibility of public space shape the experience of the city—offering avenues to address socio-spatial segregation, fostering diverse cultural expression, and serving as a...
In Auckland, the dream of owning a house may now be entirely out of reach for some people as housing prices continue to be severely unaffordable. One of the key factors to which Auckland’s housing unaffordability is often attributed is the housing shortage. This research challenges the way in which the housing affordability problem is perceived. This research contends that for housing-related...
As global urbanization transitions into the stock development stage, the renewal of aging communities has emerged as a critical strategy for addressing the housing crisis and enhancing urban functions. However, three core challenges persist in current practices: balancing historical preservation with modern adaptability, safeguarding the housing rights of vulnerable groups, and reconciling...
Since its beginnings more than a century ago, the discipline of planning has developed into an academic field relevant in research, teaching and practice. For a long time, however, planning was merely understood as a practical problem-oriented part of engineering work. It was "trapped inside a modernist instrumental rationalism" (Healey 1997: 7). In the 1960s controversial debates began about...
The 2050 climate neutrality goal is a central strategic priority for the European Union. Cities, as primary contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, are simultaneously vulnerable to climate change impacts. To achieve this goal, urban areas must prioritize the transformation of energy systems and the adoption of sustainable innovations. Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) represent a...
The adoption of innovative technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), is redefining Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs), expanding their capacity to address complex and unstructured problems (Sacco & Poli, 2024). AI, understood as a set of computational techniques capable of analyzing vast amounts of data, simulating scenarios, and constructing multidimensional narratives, enhances...
Urban areas are increasingly susceptible to the co-occurrence of flood and drought events, driven by climate change and rapid urbanization. This study applies a novel multi-risk framework for analyzing urban flood and drought risks, using Barcelona, Spain, as a case study. The framework integrates insights from existing multi-hazard and multi-risk assessment methodologies, focusing on a...
Climate planning is commonly understood as consisting in two main components: adaptation and mitigation. Adaptation deals with anticipating adverse climate effects and plan actions for minimising adverse impacts. Mitigation focuses on minimising climate change impacts by reducing the balance of Green House Gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, either by reducing emissions and by enhancing the...
A considerable number of developing countries continue to encounter significant challenges in terms of the provision of social housing for their inhabitants. In Turkey, the issue of social housing is intricately linked to the neoliberal restructuring of social housing policies, which mirrors global trends but exhibits distinct intensity and local dynamics. Prior to the 1980s, the provision of...
Urban planning has operated for over a century as the primary instrument of urban development, fundamentally equating development with growth (Pizzo 2023a, b, c; Savini et al. 2022, Rydin 2022; Xue, 2022). As we confront escalating environmental and social challenges, this traditional approach faces increasing scrutiny. While new theoretical frameworks emphasizing sufficiency, reduction, and...
Street perception encompassed multiple layers, from basic visual elements to complex cognitive interpretation. While traditional urban perception studies primarily focused on visual features, they often overlooked the deeper, multidimensional aspects of perception. This research introduced a novel unsupervised multi-feature integration framework for analyzing streetscape change perception,...
The growing urgency of climate change requires effective and inclusive strategies to meet sustainability targets. The Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) supports municipalities in achieving climate neutrality through mitigation and adaptation measures. However, the success of SECAPs relies not only on their technical rigor but also on the extent to which they incorporate...
The concept of participatory planning and community design emerged during the 1970s, responding to the growing public awareness of residents' rights and environmental justice issues. Prior to this shift, traditional planning systems, which focused primarily on professional expertise, often excluded non-expert citizens from decision-making processes, leading to suboptimal planning outcomes. In...
Negotiated developer obligations (NDOs) are a common tool in both discretionary and regulatory planning systems around the world. NDOs have been a popular land value capture method that local authorities with increasingly constrained resources have found useful. They prove to be an interesting tool in the planning profession on the basis that they not only provide parties with a platform to...
Purpose:
This presentation presents a protocol, ideas and framework to advance knowledge and research about how built and social infrastructure has co-benefits for climate change and health equity. The focus is to identify the systemic conditions that support best practice governance behind planning and delivery of climate adaptive infrastructure to enable equity....
Urban settlements are a major source of carbon emissions globally, with sustainable forms of development widely acknowledged as a key pillar of climate action.
While efforts to reduce environmental impacts have generally focused on individual buildings, there is recognition that shared methods for measuring and evaluating the performance of built form at the wider neighbourhood level are...
As an important carrier of a city’s history and culture, urban museum plays an important role in promoting urban vitality and enhancing people’s place attachment. However, little attention has been paid to the emotional attachment characteristics of museum facade which have a significant impact on the vitality of its surrounding public space. The development of emotion measurement technology...
State policies and planning decisions fuel the dynamic nature of urban space. The spatial implementations of authorities not only depict the socio-cultural position of the community but also lead a process of reconstructing power symbols in the city. In the radical shift of policies or movements, this spatial transformation tends to occur abruptly and apparently. With this perspective, Ulus,...
China's housing development has moved from incremental construction to the stage of improving the quality of stock.Historic and cultural block, due to their early construction, property rights, heritage conservation, and funding, have poor living qualities, difficulties in relocating populations, and a concentration of vulnerable populations, and residents generally lack a safe, healthy, and...
The tourism development of traditional villages is not only an important part of driving local economic growth but also a powerful means of historical and cultural preservation and rural revitalization. In recent years, with the acceleration of China's economic development and urbanization, traditional villages have faced the dual challenge of modernization while also seizing unprecedented...
The maturation of information technology has changed the operational dynamics of business offices and influenced spatial preferences in urban environments, thus generating opportunities for the reconfiguration of urban office space distribution structures. A significant volume of office space has rapidly emerged outside the Central Business District (CBD), characterized by a level of...
Addressing the needs of the visually impaired is crucial for achieving social inclusion and sustainable development. However, few research studies examine the equity of public transport resource allocation from the perspective of the visually impaired, specifically concerning accessibility of supportive physical settings in public transport systems, such as tactile paving, wheelchair access,...
With the continuous development of international concepts for the conservation of historical and cultural heritage, holistic and integrated preservation has gradually become the prevailing approach, and the types of heritage conservation have also become increasingly diversified. Against this backdrop, military heritage has emerged as a significant issue in the global field of heritage...
The past rapid urbanization model, driven by economy, neglected the protection of cultural heritage and historical memory, leading to insufficient momentum for sustainable urban development. In response, in 1972, UNESCO proposed six evaluation criteria for assessing historical and cultural heritage, establishing the World Heritage evaluation system. In 2015, the World Heritage Convention also...
As China continues to explore and implement the concept of the "15-Minute Community Life Circle," optimizing the equitable and inclusive distribution of resources has become a key issue in the regeneration and construction of community life circles. Studies found that, although the distribution of public service facilities in existing communities meets various indicators, there was a clear...
With the acceleration of China's urbanization process and the frequent occurrence of natural disasters, public health and other emergencies, traditional low-income housing mainly meets the long-term living needs of residents, but it is often difficult to meet the needs of temporary refuge and emergency resettlement in emergency situations. Xi 'an, as China's new first-tier city.On the one...
Currently, many countries are experiencing robust urban development, whereas rural areas remain relatively underdeveloped. This pronounced urban–rural gap reflects the imbalance and inequality inherent in the development process, indirectly undermining broader social equity and justice. Against this backdrop, urban–rural integration is viewed as a crucial strategy for fostering coordinated...
With the rapid advancement of contemporary society, urban residents are increasingly demanding a better quality of life. Recreational services offered by ecological public spaces play an essential role in enhancing collective human well-being. However, given the rapid economic growth, rising levels of urbanization, and swift population expansion, the imbalance between the demand and supply of...
This paper presents a territorial analysis framework, the “Clustering Accessibility Needs for Remote and Excluded Populations” (CARE), developed to identify mountain areas facing significant accessibility challenges to basic services. Focusing on the Valle d’Aosta region, the research integrates demographic, socio-economic, and geographic data to analyse and map not only the distribution of...
This paper explores the academic supervision of two master’s theses addressing the complex challenges and opportunities associated with the urban transformation and rehabilitation of Marvila, a historically rich yet fragmented district in Lisbon’s Eastern Zone. Marvila is a compelling case study due to its juxtaposition of industrial heritage, historical worker housing, and contemporary urban...
The need for social-ecological transformation is beyond question. The relevance of spatial planning in shaping this transformation is equally undisputed (cf. Hofmeister & Warner, 2021 among others). However, we still know little about whether planning for transformations also involves a substantial transformation of planning itself (cf. Schreiber et al., 2023, for one of the few exceptions)....
Climate change significantly affects urban thermal environments, with heatwaves and tropical nights exacerbating urban heat islands, increasing energy consumption, and posing serious health risks to residents. This study compares the record-breaking tropical night events in South Korea during 2018 and 2024 to analyze their impacts on urban thermal environments and societal systems. These two...
Climate change and the environmental crisis pose challenges that must be addressed in a rapid and decisive way. The green transition, significantly put forward by the European Green Deal, aims at facing such challenges through initiatives to make Europe climate neutral by 2050, boosting green growth, cutting pollution and creating green jobs. The green transition is expected to involve deep...
The research investigates the accessibility of sanitation facilities in slum areas, specifically focusing on Kampung Muka in North Jakarta. The study is motivated by the recognition that adequate sanitation is a fundamental human right and essential for public health, as emphasized by the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Despite global attention to sanitation issues, a...
Accessibility is a fundamental right, yet urban spaces continue to impose legal, spatial, societal, and administrative barriers that restrict independent mobility, particularly for persons with reduced mobility (PRMs). While accessibility regulations in Turkey are well-defined, their practical implementation remains fragmented, leading to continued exclusion from urban life. This research...
Recent studies have explored the "15-minute city" concept, which aims to provide essential urban services within a short distance of residents. Researchers have developed various methodologies to evaluate accessibility, including network-based frameworks considering human mobility patterns (Zhang et al., 2022) and GIS-based approaches to measure proximity at the neighborhood level (Chiaradia...
As cities increasingly commit to achieving carbon neutrality, they engage in greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories to measure their emissions. These inventories are typically guided by international frameworks, such as the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC), and primarily rely on production-based accounting (PBCA). This approach focuses on emissions...
As cities increasingly commit to achieving carbon neutrality, they engage in greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories to measure their emissions. These inventories are guided by international frameworks, such as the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC) and primarily rely on production-based carbon accounting (PBCA).
However, growing claims, both from the...
As the climate crisis accelerates, a mobility transition is urgently needed, tackling car dependency (Banister, 2008, IPCC, 2023, p. 103) and fostering a broader shift from ‘space for traffic’ to ‘space for people’ (Bertolini, 2023). However, the implementation of projects reallocating public space for sustainable transportation, climate adaptation measures, and social life is often...
Over the past few decades, Shezidao (Shezi Island) has faced strict development restrictions due to its designation as a “restricted development zone” under the Flood Prevention Plan for the Taipei Metropolitan Area. These constraints have led to a prolonged and involuntary stagnation of growth. In response, the previous Taipei city government introduced the "Ecological Shezidao" master plan,...
The challenge of rapidly accelerating low-carbon transitions in cities—while ensuring that these transformations do not exacerbate urban inequalities—lies at the heart of the urban just transitions debate in both academia and policy. Climate action must be integrated with equity and justice to ensure that the needs and concerns of underserved communities are central to the transition...
A key issue causing mental health problems among older adults is the lack of social engagement. For senior citizens living in urban areas, especially those residing in communities built before the 2000s, the only spaces for outdoor activities were sidewalks with no green features. These narrow outdoor spaces result in a lack of community engagement, which decreases the quality of life for both...
The actor constellation plays an important role in urban studies. Understanding actors’ power resources and mindsets is of fundamental importance in explaining their behaviours and actions in historic urban district conservation, renovation, and redevelopment as well as urban issues on a wider scope. This paper aims to offer a panoramic description framework and also reflections regarding the...
Pallameang Area, located in the coastal region of South Sulawesi Indonesia, is highly vulnerable to tidal flooding, posing significant risks to the safety and well-being of its resident. This study aims to develop adaptation strategies for sustainable settlement development based on the evaluation of physical, social and economic vulnerability levels. A mixed-methods approach was employed by...
Climate change is one of the most critical challenges of our time. It affects billions globally, manifesting in more frequent extreme weather events, rising food insecurity, increasing forced migrations, and accelerating ecological damage. These impacts, manifested at multiple scales from local to global, require coordinated and multi-level policy responses. The European Green Deal (EGD)...
The 15-minute city (15minC) model has emerged as a guiding framework for just and sustainable urban development, prioritizing proximity, connectivity, and diversity to enhance residents’ quality of life. While widely applied in dense urban centers, its implementation in suburban areas faces particular challenges due to the lower density, insufficient connectivity, and limited diversity in the...
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of natural hazards as urbanization rises, affecting both people and wildlife in metropolitan areas. Water stress is also exacerbated by rising temperatures. This brings urban planning to the forefront of climate change adaptation, as cities have the capacity to promote circularity in water systems. However, there are still a...
In addressing the impacts and consequences of climate change, there is often a socio-political narrative—particularly at the local level—that focuses on immediate responses and short-term futures. This narrative prioritizes the restoration or maintenance of the pre-event status quo, driven by the desires of affected populations and economic stakeholders, as well as the alignment with political...
Background:
Urban heat exacerbates pre-existing vulnerabilities in Xi’an’s vulnerable communities, characterized by ageing infrastructure, socio-economic inequality, and a concentration of rural-to-urban migrants. These communities frequently face resource shortages, limited awareness, and insufficient institutional support to mitigate heat-related challenges, underscoring the urgent need for...
In recent years, climate change has exacerbated pluvial flooding, and consequently, flood risk management has become a key priority for our cities and society (Rosenzweig et al., 2018). A paradigm shift from resistance to resilience-focused strategies is emerging, emphasising the need for cities to 'bounce forward' to new equilibria rather than returning to pre-flood normality (Hegger et al.,...
Traditional urban design approaches typically estimate the flow of rivers traversing urban areas using historical data, which forms the basis for developing spatial proposals. However, climate change's observable and escalating impacts have profoundly challenged and reshaped these conventional methodologies. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and the increasing frequency of...
Rural coastal communities are highly dependent on natural resources, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This is especially evident in the Eastern Shore of Virginia (ESVA), a hotspot for accelerated climate impacts, including rising sea levels, coastal and inland flooding, and groundwater salinization. These environmental pressures threaten local agriculture,...
This paper proposes an environmental conservation perspective to address multi-dimensional socio-environmental problems across various spatial scales by incorporating “Biodiversity Impact Chain Analysis (BIC)” (Büscher et al., 2022) into planning. The “Biodiversity Impact Chain” (BIC) analysis offers a methodological framework that aims to unveil the biodiversity losses and socio-ecological...
Background
Amidst intensifying climate change, urban regions around the globe are experiencing more frequent and severe extreme weather events. In particular, the frequency and intensity of heatwaves have risen substantially, with the urban heat island effect further exacerbating extreme heat conditions. This escalation contributes to increasing mortality and morbidity, creating a major...
This study focuses on urban complexity and adaptive capacity, employing sub-fractal analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and spatial statistical tools to investigate interactions between urban expansion and planning strategies. By examining the case of İzmir, the research traces the temporal evolution of urban complexity and evaluates the influence of major planning interventions...
This study explores the potential of Turkey’s mid-sized cities to align with the "15-minute city" concept, emphasizing proximity, inclusivity, and sustainability. These cities, characterized by compact urban areas where most residents live within a 3-km radius, inherently support walkable, proximity-based urban planning. However, rising automobilization and minimal car use restrictions along...
In an era of increasing environmental volatility, socio-economic disparities, and demographic shifts, planning education, research, and knowledge transfer have become essential components of a robust response to contemporary urban and regional challenges. Traditional planning curricula often emphasize specialized technical skills in isolation from the interconnected realities of climate...
The AESOP Quality Recognition (QR) Programme was initiated in 2006 after reflections on the needed transformations of planning programmes under changing requirements, and often challenging conditions for the planning profession and academia. After years of efforts invested by many colleagues and working groups, the Programme moved in 2015 from its Pilot Phase into the Standard Phase in 2019...
The roundtable is proposed at the background of the AESOP International PhD Workshop in India in 2026. In the past, AESOP members have advocated for learning about planning education and practices from countries/continents beyond the boundary of Europe, and especially from the Global South and East countries. One of the main aims of forming the Global South and East thematic group was that the...
In Finland, the building stock is relatively young: the majority of the buildings is built during the second half of the 1900s. Yet, statistics show high demolition rates in Finland, in particular in growing cities, where demolishing has boomed in parallel with real estate business. Demolition does not only erase potential layers of heritage, it also threatens officially protected historic...
This research aims to tease out some of the potential or ‘new’ theoretical directions from the mainstream of communicative/collaborative planning theory which predominates the academic field of planning study through the 1990s to 2010s. It takes a perspective of skeleton phylogeny of human mtDNA which has been revealed by Dr Vincent Macaulay and his colleagues in their study on statistical...
Urban parks in Costa Rica are scarce but widely used by people of all ages. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 50% of visitors to the country's main metropolitan parks reported an increase in their visitation frequency. This paper explores metropolitan park users' perceptions of those places as agents of well-being, both before and after the pandemic.
Data was collected through...
Introduction
In the era of smart campus development, emerging technologies such as AI and digital twins have revolutionized educational systems, yet public space management remains reliant on traditional, experience-driven approaches. This gap is evident in critical areas like campus dining spaces, where imbalanced utilization and inefficient resource allocation persist due to...
Climate change, driven by human activity, has intensified extreme weather events, causing significant losses, especially in vulnerable communities (IPCC, 2023). In Brazil, data from 2023 indicate that around 73% of the population lives in municipalities with high risk of flooding, flash floods, or landslides (Anjos, 2024). In this context, the integration between environmental risk management...
In light of the urgent environmental, social, economic, and political challenges of our time, urban design and planning education must evolve to equip future practitioners with transformative skills. This paper presents a pedagogical approach that foregrounds student agency, interdisciplinary engagement, and systemic thinking to prepare them for the complexities and urgencies of real-world...
This study arises from an argumentation aimed at critically examining issues of disintegration and dissolution while exploring alternative models of spatial research practices that prioritize "inclusiveness" and "public engagement." In the face of contemporary challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and rapid urbanization, fostering urban resilience, sustainability, inclusivity,...
In contemporary society, the growing demographic of older adults and rapid urbanization make rethinking the relationship between health and the urban environment crucial (WHO, 2017). Housing quality and organization of urban spaces significantly impact older adults’ physical and mental health, shaping their aging trajectories (Oswald et al., 2011). This underscores the need for innovative,...
The demographic transition theory, in its broadest definition, refers to the shift from high fertility and mortality rates in the pre-industrial period to low fertility and mortality rates in the post-industrial period (Bloom and Williamson, 1998). As an inevitable outcome of this transition, populations are aging. While developed countries have largely completed this transition, the...
Agroecological rewilding can be understood as the integration of productive food plants into everyday landscapes to reinstate the latent, ancient understanding of the provenance of food, medicine, fibres and energy sources (Jin et al., under review). The deliberate collocation of the terms ‘agroecology’ and ‘rewilding’ is employed to stimulate an inquiry on the conceptual boundaries of...
The emergence of the 15-minute city (Moreno, 2024) concept is closely linked to the climate crisis, particularly after the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21, held in Paris in December 2015. In that year, a consensus and adopted the Paris Agreement, a major international agreement aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. This agreement recognized the need to take urgent...
For spatial planning, artificial intelligence (AI) offers considerable potential for the efficient categorisation and analysis of extensive data sets; however, it can also be used to solve problems logically, facilitate the systematic evaluation of historical data and enable intelligent search processes that can be used to derive more efficient solutions for spatial planning practice (Popelka...
Background
Global cities face unprecedented crises ranging from escalating climate threats to entrenched social disparities. Rapid growth-oriented urbanization over recent decades has led to environmental depletion and magnified socioeconomic marginalization. As these intertwined challenges intensify, there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the nexus of development goals, ecological...
Ontology technology plays a vital role in information management within the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction. AI-driven automated and semi-automated ontology construction has emerged as a key research direction, significantly improving the efficiency and scalability of ontology construction while addressing the limitations of traditional methods that rely heavily on domain...
“Healthy Streets” have emerged as a key strategy for enhancing street quality and promoting public health. Within the broad framework of Healthy Streets, this study focuses on their healing qualities and emphasizes healing environments that support attention restoration and emotional recovery. The environments shall improve users' physical, cognitive, and behavioral health. By utilizing...
As cities continue to face the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation, understanding the spatial variability of urban air quality is essential for fostering sustainable and resilient development. Air pollution, a critical determinant of public health and environmental well-being, is especially problematic in high-density urban environments where complex interactions between...
1.Introduction and Research Gap
The European Union’s No Net Land Take (NNLT) strategy aims to halt further land consumption by 2050, compelling urban planners to focus on regeneration rather than expansion [1]. This policy shift, set in the framework of the EU Soils strategy for 2030 [2] and Nature Restoration Law [3], necessitates a systematic approach for prevention and restoration of...
The term "energy transition" is often oversimplified in public discourse, reduced to a focus on emissions-free energy targets while black-boxing the intricate global supply chains and material flows that sustain them (Nadaï and Wallenborn, 2019). Rather than a uniform shift, energy transitions involve reconfigurations of socio-technical systems that reshape landscapes, infrastructures, and...
Sustainability policies achieved increasing attention in the last decades, with the EU green transition initiatives, especially the European Green Deal, taking a leading role (Almeida, et al, 2023). There are now a series of concrete ideas adopted and under implementation in many cities and metropolitan areas, such as greening public space, renovating buildings, avoiding to develop unbuilt...
Stretching from the Mediterranean Sea in the south-west to the Danube plains in the north-east, the Alpine region is one of the most complex and heterogeneous territories in Europe. While there are numerous contributions dealing with the development dynamics of the peri-Alpine lowlands and the inner-Alpine highlands, so far hardly any attention has been given to these territories in between....
In the Alps, mountain tourist regions are undergoing a structural transition driven by the tension between dominant industrial tourism-based economies and the effects of global crises such as climate change and shifting sociocultural paradigms.
These dynamics challenge the legacy and traditional practices of alpine tourism, redefining it as a multifaceted phenomenon that engages an increasing...
This contribution raises a reflection on the planning of the so-called inner areas, in which depopulation, emigration, social and productive rarefaction, abandonment of the land, are distinctive phenomena. Shaping a new role for inner areas requires forms of community and the arising of new subjectivities that rely on forms of direct democracy (Magnaghi, 2020), reconstructing the places of...
Resilience theory focuses on the ability of systems and organisations to resist crisis situations, absorb the effects of crisis and adapt to new conditions. This theory offers an important perspective, especially in understanding the dynamics of complex systems. In this study, Resilience theory is analysed in the context of the housing sector. Studies on the factors affecting the corporate...
Urban flooding, responsible for 44% of all natural disasters worldwide from 2000 to 2019, impacts more than 2 billion people each year. This study presents a unique methodology for evaluating urban flood vulnerability in response to the growing challenges posed by rapid urbanization and climate change. By integrating flood susceptibility and human exposure, the research introduces a novel...
Housing has been one of Türkiye's significant urban problems in recent decades. There are two broad categories of factors that directly influence this multifaceted problem. The supply-side factors are mainly the economic and institutional factors that aim to solve the problem by using the housing supply as a tool. Since high rents have been considered the primary cause of the high costs of...
In recent years, amid overlapping global socio-ecological crises, the deep involvement of external capital in rural areas—alongside the reconfiguration of local resources—has given rise to an increasingly complex landscape of rural transformation. This study focuses on the issue of “rural spatial commodification” instigated by collaborative projects in “rural construction” and “rural cultural...
Mega projects, including large-scale industrial zones, bridges, airports, and transportation infrastructure, represent significant investments that profoundly alter land use patterns and pose substantial risks to ecosystems. Within the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those addressing "life on land" and "climate action," the social and environmental...
The People's Republic of China is currently experiencing a period of high-quality, intensive urban development. It is imperative that the relationship between the transport value and tourism value of routes between attractions is given full consideration in order to ensure the efficient use of tourism resources.Xi'an, the capital city with the longest history, the largest number of dynasties,...
Background: In the context of increasingly unsettled urban development, historic urban spaces serve as crucial physical carriers of a city's culture and memory, providing collective connections that shape the city's sense of social identity. These visual elements of historic streets constitute spatial memory patterns that are deeply intertwined with people's cultural lives. However, with...
NbS are hailed for their multiple benefits and their effectiveness to alleviate and respond to the risks presented by climate change. Yet, scholarship increasingly challenges NBSs underlying principles and values, highlighting that those who most need the benefits of NbS, often are not in receipt of them. Consequently, NBS practice has been critiqued for failing to engage with existing...
This study investigates the spatio-temporal differentiation and coupling coordination characteristics of the "PLES" – production space, living space, and ecological space – in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River region. The objective is to explore the spatio-temporal evolution patterns and interrelationships among these spaces. Given the ongoing promotion of ecological...
In consequence of the economic restructuring and decentralisation that took place in the late 1990s, a notable trend of suburbanisation has been observed in the city of Buenos Aires, resulting in a concomitant stagnation of the population residing in the central area (CABA).
While the city core remains the cultural and economic heart of Argentina, many people have moved to the surrounding...
Understanding pedestrian route choice is crucial for achieving sustainable urban planning. Walking helps reduce vehicle usage, improves public health, and enhances street vitality. Pedestrian route choices are influenced by various factors such as safety, attractiveness, and perceptions of the built environment. While most pedestrians prioritize travel distance and prefer the shortest routes,...
Currently, there are many articles on the impact of inclement weather on subway passenger flow, but very few of them deal with the impact on the degree of fluctuation of subway passenger flow, and it is crucial to explore the intrinsic causes of the degree of fluctuation for the operation and organization of urban transportation. Based on this, this study analyzes the differences in the...
Public transportation accessibility in modern cities significantly influences individual mobility efficiency and is a crucial factor in enhancing urban competitiveness and ensuring balanced regional development. However, disparities in accessibility persist across different areas, limiting mobility in regions with underdeveloped public transportation networks. This, in turn, restricts access...
In an era of unprecedented ecological challenges and systemic urban transformation, the concept of degrowth has emerged as a critical paradigm for reimagining spatial planning and urban development (Kallis et al., 2018). Traditional urban planning models, fundamentally rooted in continuous economic expansion and resource extraction, have increasingly demonstrated their limitations in...
The World Economic Forum (WEF) identifies extreme weather events, failure to address climate change, and major natural disasters as critical global environmental risks. While these risks can be assessed through objective data, citizens often experience psychological distress even without direct exposure to disaster damage. This highlights the importance of understanding how regional disaster...
Residential care facilities for individuals with disabilities play a crucial role in enhancing their quality of life and supporting sustainable daily living. However, NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) attitudes among local residents often hinder efforts to improve the social independence and quality of life for these individuals. A primary concern driving this opposition is the fear of decreasing...
This study examines the predictive modeling capabilities for migrant inclusivity in South African cities using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Through analysis of data collected from over 1,000 foreign migrants across nine South African provinces, the research investigates the interrelationships between multiple dimensions of urban integration, including...
Many large-scale Eastern archaeological sites are primarily constructed with earthen and wooden structures, which exhibit low aesthetic appeal and are susceptible to natural and human-induced erosion and damage. The protection and display of these sites present significant challenges in the field of cultural heritage preservation. China's National Archaeological Site Parks serve as model areas...
Urban forms change as a result of economic growth and transformations aimed at maximizing economic and social benefits. In this context, the role and importance of cities that incorporate the concept of sustainable development as practical solutions to enhance the social and physical value of regions have been emphasized. As interest in sustainable and carbon-neutral cities grows due to the...
The multiple impacts of climate change, such as floods, heavy rainfall, and heat waves, pose major challenges to cities and their inhabitants. In order to protect urban residents from these threats implementing targeted adaptation measures is essential especially in particularly affected areas and for vulnerable groups. In this context, assessing heat-related health risks is extremely...
Urban heat islands (UHIs) are a significant environmental challenge in modern urban areas, characterized by elevated temperatures compared to rural surroundings. This phenomenon arises from factors such as reduced vegetation, increased impervious surfaces, and dense urbanization (Leconte et al., 2015). Addressing UHIs is critical for enhancing urban livability, public health, and environmental...
As the world confronts pressing issues such as climate change, social inequality, and resource depletion, there is a critical need to engage with both traditional and emerging planning theories. This necessitates a re-evaluation of the core concepts and assumptions that have historically shaped planning practices. Ancient Chinese urban planning, rich in cultural heritage and historical wisdom,...
This article explores the recent transformations in housing production in Heliópolis, one of the largest favelas in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. This territory consolidated itself through a process of self-construction and the struggle for housing, a dynamic that, while still present in the area, has increasingly given way to an intensive housing production of vertical buildings, identified...
Flanders is considered as a highly sprawled region, consisting of a fragmented and mostly privately owned land market. A diverse and large amount of small to medium scale, often locally oriented private developers dominate the housing market. Research has claimed that relative to e.g. the Netherlands, the Flanders’ housing market can be considered as ‘non-financialized’, with an abundance of...
It is now widely accepted that EU-policies, particularly environmental, have considerable impact on spatial planning in the member states (Evers and Tennekes, 2016; Fernández-i-Marín et al., 2024; Purkarthofer, 2024). This impact can be felt at in all phases of the policy cycle: it can frame the discussion on planning issues (agenda setting), affect the types of policy interventions...
This paper explores the evolving notion of the monument within the context of urban conservation, emphasizing its relationship with time, values, and societal continuity. Moving beyond traditional definitions, we propose that a monument is not merely a static physical object, but an architectural sign that establishes virtuous behaviors over time. This perspective highlights the concept of...
The Pangkep City Government utilizes the Pangkajene River as a Non-Green Open Space or Public Open Space (POS) through the development of the riverbank in the city center. Despite the potential for sunset views and the presence of Street Vendors, the Pangkajene Riverbank area still faces challenges such as insufficient parking access, unoptimized pedestrian paths and lack of lighting in the...
Shared bicycle has become one of the most popular modes of transportation in China, contributing positively to reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality and promoting physical health, etc. However, the mismatch between supply and demand caused by uneven spatial distribution and different operational strategies has led to scenarios where not all bicycle movements are user-driven. In...
If recent policy announcements are to be believed, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two largest cities, appear destined for major disruptions driven by two headline policies being implemented in the third decade of the 21st century: transit-oriented development (TOD) and local living policies in the form of 15- and 20-minute neighbourhoods. These policies share complementary aims of reducing...
While Transit Oriented Development has been a long-standing paradigm in sustainable urbanism, there remains a common disconnect between the specific approaches of transit infrastructure and service planning on the one hand, and the internal design of local neighbourhoods on the other hand. This connect is partly owed to disciplinary barriers and the associated differing professional cultures,...
Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe (Borderpark Saeftinghe) is a transboundary region located within the Flemish-Dutch Delta, a significant river delta shaped by the Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt rivers. The territory of Flemish-Dutch Delta spans provinces in the Netherlands and Belgium, including Antwerp, East Flanders, West Flanders, Zeeland, North Brabant, and South Holland. As a region of strategic...
Transformative visons and sustainability foresight are discussed as a key factor of urban capacities for sustainability transformation (Wolfram 2016). It is not only the transition management approach that assumes that, following a systemic analysis of the initial situation, a long-term vision of wellbeing while respecting planetary boundaries is required in order to derive the necessary...
Addressing climate change requires localized assessments that integrate environmental, socio-economic, and climatic factors to guide targeted adaptation strategies. This study focuses on evaluating climate adaptability and risk across Italy using two composite indices: the Climate Change Adaptability Index (CCAI) and the Climate Change Risk Index (CCRI). Both indices are developed using open...
Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES), which include recreation, aesthetics, inspiration, and cultural heritage, are essential non-material benefits that enrich human well-being and foster a sense of place and identity. Despite their critical role, CES often remain underrepresented in ecosystem service assessments due to their subjective nature and the inherent challenges in their spatial...
Over 70% of global carbon emissions originate from cities, and a significant portion of these emissions is linked to urban energy systems. Accelerating the adoption of renewable energy in cities is therefore crucial to achieving worldwide decarbonization targets. However, the inherent volatility of renewable energy sources conflicts with the relatively stable nature of urban energy demand,...
Cities stand at the frontline of the climate crisis, and are set to transform every aspect of urban life — from sustainable mobility and energy systems to food security, water management, and inclusive housing. As places of both vulnerability and innovation, they offer great potential for redefining urban living by implementing bold, forward-looking solutions. Among them, housing has emerged...
Public spaces have always played a central role in shaping vibrant urban experiences. As the primary venues for residents’ daily public activities, city streets offer multiple functions, including commuting, leisure, socializing, and exercise (Hassen & Kaufman, 2016). High-quality street environments not only improve residents’ health and quality of life but also directly affect urban...
Climate change increasingly threatens cultural heritage worldwide, posing significant risks to its preservation and sustainability. This study explores the potential impacts, a critical stage in the vulnerability assessment framework outlined by the IPCC, on South Korea’s wooden cultural heritage. Most of South Korea’s cultural heritage sites are wooden structures, making them particularly...
The impacts of the 2021 flood disaster in Europe have highlighted the criticality and protective value of critical infrastructures (CI), as well as the necessity for comprehensive risk assessments in proactive spatial planning and disaster management. These assessments serve both as an informational basis for maintaining the necessary supply for the population during disasters (at least...
Electric vehicles (EVs) are recognized as a feasible solution for improving the environment, and environmental factors may also affect the adoption of EVs.
However, there is a limited body of literature exploring the impact of environmental factors on the actual sales of EVs based on real-world air quality data. Previous research, primarily conducted through surveys, indicates that...
Nature-based Solutions (NBS) are recognized as strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, while existing assessment frameworks focus on the environmental impacts of NBS, they usually neglect their relevant implications on social and economic issues. Instead, a more comprehensive approach might also reveal the vital role of NBS as Inclusive Climate Actions (ICAs):...
Sustainable urban mobility is essential for modern cities, and cycling, as a sustainable urban transport mode, plays a crucial role. Bike-sharing systems are one of the most prominent tools to support cycling policies. This proceeding aims to explore the development and evolution of bike-sharing systems in a developing country context, using Konya as a case study.
In 2014, field research was...
Urban public spaces play a vital role in shaping the physical and socio-economic environments of cities, significantly influencing residents' quality of life and the economic value of urban areas. While most studies on housing prices focus on objective factors such as location and structural characteristics, the impact of urban public space quality remains underexplored. Moreover, existing...
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) aims to guide urban development through rail transit, with rail transit stations serving as pivotal urban nodes for the concentration of people and urban activities. The opening of new rail transit lines can increase the attractiveness of the station areas by improving accessibility and fostering changes in land use and amenities, thereby enhancing urban...
Platform economy has enabled new business models for rental housing worldwide, such as short term rent. Among the most successful cases is Airbnb, a global platform that offers intermediation for hosts, as a place where they can easily offer and administer short-term rental agreements, and guests. Such easiness comes from the platform framework, which facilitates the connection of previously...
Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) is a comprehensive, data-driven approach aimed at improving urban transport systems through stakeholder engagement, evidence-based decision-making, and strategic scenario development. In Türkiye, SUMP projects initiated in cities of İzmir, Ankara, Kocaeli, and İstanbul, which not only included new modeling approaches, but also a thorough legislative...
As cities continue to expand, the increasing pressures of climate change and disaster risks have revealed significant gaps in conventional growth-driven urban strategies, which often fail to address ecological balance and social equity adequately (Pelling, 2011; Ahern, 2011). Urban growth patterns, when poorly managed, can intensify vulnerability to climate hazards while neglecting critical...
Global climate change has led to an increase in extreme heat events, which significantly impacts urban mobility, particularly bike-sharing systems. While considerable research has focused on the effects of the physical environment on urban mobility resilience (UMR), few studies have addressed the socio-economic impacts, and even fewer have examined the combined influence of both systems. This...
Recent advances in Street View Imagery (SVI) and computer vision technologies have significantly improved the ability to capture urban features and overcome the limitations of traditional field-based audits. However, previous computer vision methods have primarily focused on mapping spatial distributions such as visual complexity, street enclosure, and greenery, often relying heavily on...
The rapid acceleration of urbanization in China has led to the emergence of numerous large cities characterized by dense populations and limited per capita resources, significantly influencing the tourism dynamics in surrounding regions. As Metropolitan Fringe Areas increasingly serve as popular short-term travel destinations, the adjacent villages confront unprecedented developmental...
Climate risks are becoming increasingly critical as climate change intensifies globally including Italy, where the effects are visible through increase of extreme events such as heatwaves and floods. Addressing climate change requires localized assessments that integrate environmental, socio-economic, and climatic factors to guide targeted adaptation strategies. This study focuses on...
Disaster resilience is increasingly recognized as a critical capacity for communities to withstand and recover from hazardous events. Communities that demonstrate higher resilience typically experience reduced impacts from disasters and shorter recovery periods. Building a resilient community to disasters has become a primary objective of disaster management aimed at absorbing and mitigating...
The ASSET project—A Spatial Strategy for Eurodelta, boosting the Transition to circular construction—is a transformative initiative to establish the Eurodelta as a blueprint for a circular built environment (CBE). ASSET is a collaborative project between the cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Brussels, Krefeld, and Duisburg; RWTH Aachen and TU Delt universities; and the Deltametropolis...
The present study, based in the city of Lisbon, Portugal, analyzes the phenomenon of temporary uses and the sharing practices of the urban fabric. Through meticulous mapping of urban practices, it unveils the intricate dynamics of the intermittent city, where uses and activities materialize in real-time. These uses and practices, when mapped, serve as a representation of the dynamic interplay...
The newly emerging housing question is widely considered to be exclusively affecting large metropolitan regions. This is also true for Italy, where Milan – and its metropolitan region – have become the hotspot of a housing supply and affordability crisis that does not seem to mitigate in anyway. However, many peripheral areas in the region of Lombardy are experiencing high stress in their...
This paper examines spatial planning as a cultural practice, conceptualizing it as an interplay between attitudes, actions, and artifacts. Spatial planning is not merely a technical, political, or communicative activity, but rather a complex cultural practice influenced by shared societal norms, values, and practices that evolve over time. This study adopts a meaning-oriented and praxeological...
Augmented Reality (AR) demonstrates significant potential as a participatory tool in collaborative urban design by enabling real-time, 1:1 scale visualization of 3D design proposals through mobile devices. Given the challenge of fostering quality participation in urban design, this research investigates the effectiveness of mobile AR in enhancing understanding and motivation for collaborative...
Seeing autism as a natural variation of human beings, the emerging paradigm of neurodiversity seeks recognition of difference for its community. In its struggle for justice, the neurodiversity paradigm needs to rely on a theoretical spatial framework to assert its ‘right to the city’. The question that arises here is how urban planning theory, as the field concerned with the materiality of the...
Autonomous vehicles are poised to disrupt mobility patterns perhaps more than any other burgeoning innovation today (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2017). New innovations in transportation history, such as trains and cars, have changed how humans live, and cities are planned and organized (Taylor 1951). These changes have brought improvements and challenges to various...
The paper digs deep into a case, from the perspective of the project-director of actual developments on the former mine-site in Beringen, a medium-sized city in Flanders (Belgium). Description and evaluation of a work-in-progress serve critical reflection and a proposal for an enriched approach.
Klee’s ‘Angelus Novus’ captures the inevitable drive of progress, looking into the past, turning...
Managing flood-prone areas requires an effective integration of environmental protection, urban development, and community safety. Spatial conflicts, arising from differing social, economic, and environmental interests, present a significant challenge in spatial planning processes. This research focuses on analyzing public perceptions and assessing the effectiveness of local authorities'...
The competing interests of various actors around attractive urban heritage sites present ongoing and complex challenges, particularly in the context of increasingly intensifying tourism flows. These issues become even more relevant when viewed from the perspective of residents who are the most immediate preservers of local urban culture. While historic heritage areas of high symbolic value are...
The Rhine River basin is Western Europe’s most crucial water channel, supporting the region’s economy, ecology, and cultural heritage. It is central in agricultural, industrial, and urban processes across multiple countries from Switzerland to the Netherlands. However, the Rhine is increasingly vulnerable to various environmental and infrastructural stresses caused by climate-induced droughts...
Broader research frame setting the stage
Urban public spaces are under significant pressure due to acute scarcity, unequal accessibility, and insufficient versatility, leading to a lack of opportunities for human encounters and complicating solutions to environmental, climate, and health-related challenges. Moreover, the deficiency of green public spaces particularly impacts the...
Coastal areas underwent a radical transformation during the twentieth century related to the beach tourism industry. The development of beach tourism in Italy had a significant impact on the gradual transformation of the coastal landscape from elitist to mass tourism between the 1950s and 1960s, leading over time to the recognition of the coast as a major economic driver.
This beach...
The implementation of three interconnected reforms in Ukraine in 2019-2021 has set the stage for one of the largest transfers of land ownership and land use controls on the European continent. First of these, the Decentralization reform resulted in a large-scope municipal amalgamation. Over 12,000 mostly sparsely populated rural, institutionally weak, and subsidy-dependent municipalities were...
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected trade in Italy, highlighting structural weaknesses and catalyzing significant changes in the production and distribution sectors. This aspect emerges prominently in Lombardy, the epicenter in Europe of the health and economic crises.
During this period (2019-2022) the Regional Council of Lombardy has drafted and approved the Multi-Year Programme...
The community, particularly community centres, occupies a significant portion of female older adults’ daily time and activities in Hong Kong. This study interviewed 20 female seniors living in public housing to explore their daily activities within the community and community centres, as well as the meaning and value of these spaces and activities. The research demonstrates the...
Islands and archipelagos are often considered as laboratories, with their apparent isolation deemed to be an ideal condition for research. But their isolation is as much a social construction as a reality. Cabo Verde (CV), an island nation in the Atlantic, off Western Africa and a former Portuguese colony, since the beginning of its inhabitation has been shaped by its connections with other...
The globalised and capitalised world thrives and, associated with phenomena of massive tourism and gentrification, cities and their inhabitants face an inevitable pressure to adjust. In this paper, we intend to explore the role and potential of pocket spaces – often neglected and apparently trivial spaces – within consolidated urban fabrics as possible mitigators of the effects brought by the...
In many regions of the world, and undoubtedly among them in Mediterranean countries, the dynamics of tourism are laying bare many tensions of a social, economic, cultural and spatial-territorial nature. Many cities are affected by heavy dynamics in which tourism-related transformations are intertwined according to recurring but contextually determined logics with dynamics of gentrification and...
The way in which urban planning deals with the question of land in Mumbai is invariably tied to how it imagines urban water—in its various forms and flows—in relation to land. In a city where land-use planning is dominated by real estate imperatives, the everyday life of Mumbai’s inhabitants is caught in the struggle to anticipate and adapt to how water will flow and flood the city, altering...
As urban areas face rising environmental challenges—including biodiversity loss, climate change, and the uneven distribution of resources—there is an increasing need to rethink approaches to designing public spaces that foster inclusion and resilience for both human and non-human communities. Urban environments, shaped largely by human priorities, often overlook the roles that non-human beings...
Traditional planning narratives often rely on binary distinctions, such as rural versus urban and human versus nature, which obscure the complex interrelations shaping contemporary landscapes. In light of climate change, biodiversity loss, and food system challenges, planning must shift towards a socio-ecological systems (SES) perspective that recognizes human settlements—whether rural or...
This research aims to examine the potential role of planned retreat strategies in the socio-ecological transition of Italian coastal areas, in light of the challenges posed by the contemporary post-growth context.
In Italy, the phase of intense economic growth that characterised the second half of the twentieth century coincided with widespread urbanisation, often occurring in the absence of...
With the promotion of sustainable transportation, cycling has gained significant attention as an eco-friendly and healthy mode of travel. Cyclists, unlike motor vehicle users, are directly exposed to street environments without physical protection, making the quality of street environment crucial to their riding experience. Previous research has shown that streetscape features, including...
The Emilia-Romagna region in Italy has experienced multiple severe flood events in 2023 and 2024, caused by prolonged heavy rainfall. These events triggered widespread inundations and landslides, severely affecting local populations, economic activities, and territorial balance. The national and international media extensively covered the disasters due to their severity, sparking a public...
Colonial histories persist in contemporary urban and rural landscapes through processes of erasure, resistance, and re-imagining. This presentation examines case studies from several countries in the Global South. Cases from Mumbai, Argentina, Ecuador, Malaysia, and South Africa, reveal how communities contest the ongoing entanglements between coloniality and contemporary spatial...
The European Union has witnessed a significant evolution in cross-border cooperation governance in recent years, encompassing various institutional mechanisms and arrangements. Interreg programs, Macroregional strategies, the b-solutions project, and more complex institutional cooperation structures such as Euroregions and European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) demonstrate that...
Urban regeneration policies convey the ideas about what the policymakers conceived as the primary issues (among others) in the local areas. It is commonly accepted that such ideas are shaped by the interactions of local social context and global ideological trends (Lees et al., 2015; Leary & McCarthy, 2013). In China, however, the hierarchical national governance structure and ambiguous...
In the era of planetary crises, urban innovation and intervention often prioritize megacities, overshadowing small-scale cities despite their unique potential to tackle rising global health challenges. This paper explores the transformative role of small-scale cities through an in-depth case study of Tartu, Estonia—a city that exemplifies how compact urban environments can act as catalysts for...
The City of Naples is facing the complex challenge of dealing with the consequences of a persistent housing crisis. The reconfiguration of public housing settlements, often marked by serious conditions of blight and poverty, represents a structural problem for the city, a long-term emergency to be governed, recently carried out in the framework of National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP),...
Since the plastics lifecycle has a significant carbon footprint and emits about 4% of total GHG emissions, the global plastic pollution crisis is becoming a significant challenge to achieve the international target of limiting global temperatures to the climate-safe level of 1.5 degrees (OECD, 2023). Even if anthropogenic GHG emissions were reduced to zero, researchers believe that changes in...
The concept of "sustainability" is no longer sufficient in an era where planetary boundaries have been breached. The 1.5°C global warming limit has already been exceeded in certain regions, signaling irreversible climate impacts. The take-make-dispose linear economy, which ties development to the relentless consumption of virgin resources, is unsustainable in the face of escalating...
Modern public transport networks (PTNs) are not simply physical conduits for movement; they are vital infrastructures that shape socio-economic opportunities and influence the quality of urban life. Despite this significance, notable service gaps still exist between urban centers and peripheral or rural regions, which in turn intensify socio-economic inequalities, limit access to essential...
In 1997, Amin and Graham reported "a veritable deluge of newspaper and magazine reports now addresses urban crises and 'regeneration' processes", whose descriptions oscillate between gloomy predictions of “urban doom and optimistic portrayals of an urban renaissance” (p. 411), often with the aim of obscuring complexities. These insights continue to resonate, reflecting a persistent but...
This roundtable brings together contributors to the ARL Working Group; ‘Beyond the Process – Finding common ground for a discussion on planning’s substantial foundation’, to discuss the difficulties associated with grasping a common theoretical foundation for spatial planning.
Spatial planning activities often struggle for legitimacy in the face of populist politics, neoliberal forces and...
Context: Cycling for transportation is increasingly recognised as a core strategy to combat the climate emergency, particularly in urban environments. Over the past few years, bike-sharing services have evolved from novel experiments to integral components of urban transportation networks, offering a flexible and valuable opportunity to attract new users to cycling and promote sustainable...
Boulevards are widely recognized as urban features that encourage pedestrian movement due to their walkable design. However, despite their perceived role as pedestrian corridors, empirical evidence supporting this notion through actual pedestrian count data remains scarce. This study addresses this gap by leveraging mobile app-derived pedestrian data collected over time in Tel Aviv, Israel....
Biophilia refers to the innate connection and intrinsic tendency of humans toward nature. While biophilia has been a focus of scientists and design communities for several decades, it is a concept that has been intuitively recognized by humanity since its existence. The integration of biophilia into urban design, known as biophilic urbanism, prioritizes nature and the human-nature interaction...
Nature-based solutions (NBS) offer a promising framework for addressing urban environmental challenges while also enhancing social and economic resilience. As cities seek to achieve climate neutrality, the integration of NBS with Renewable Energy Sources (RES) presents both an opportunity and a challenge requiring an interdisciplinary approach and an innovative planning strategy. In this...
The accessibility and usability of outdoor spaces are essential for fostering mobility, social interactions, and well-being among older adults. However, many of these spaces are not truly public but are instead semi-public or privately managed, shaped by spatial hierarchies, social norms, and governance structures. This study examines how older adults navigate, appropriate, and contest access...
Complex interactions between various actors including state institutions, private enterprises and civic organizations shape the socio-spatial transformation of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This study explores the role of innovation as a transformative force in regional futures within the CEE context. The CEE region’s transition from socialist economies to market-driven development has led...
In an era of global challenges and crises, multi-spatial and multi-temporal data have become essential for the effective monitoring of urban change and the evaluation of policy success across administrative boundaries. However, data monopolies—wherein commercial entities and selected institutions exercise exclusive control over access to critical geospatial datasets—impede transparency, public...
Urban fragmentation presents a critical challenge for fostering equitable, just, and sustainable urban environments, particularly in cities transitioning from socialist to post-socialist structures. This research focuses on the urban evolution of Tirana, Albania, exploring how spatial, social, and cultural fragmentations, combined with environmental inefficiencies, shape the city's...
Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) are transforming urban mobility through intelligent systems that enhance mobility, independence, and social integration for all age groups while improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions (Circella, 2017; Chatti and Majeed, 2022). However, older adults often face barriers to adopting these technologies due to societal...
In an era marked by an escalating planetary crisis, the need to rethink spatial planning as a transformative action becomes ever more pressing. Addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and socio-spatial inequalities requires a paradigm shift that moves beyond conventional approaches, embracing adaptive frameworks capable of fostering resilience and...
In recent years, the balance between urban and rural areas has globally shifted significantly in the metropolitan areas -driven by increasing internal migration from cities towards rural regions accelerating since the Covid 19 period. This migration has brought substantial social and spatial transformations, often resulting in processes of ‘rural gentrification’. Consequently, rural spaces are...
Climate change is posing emerging challenges on multiple levels and scales of socio-spatial organization, especially impacting existing land use patterns and standards of living in urban as well as exurban areas. As already widely established in current literature, planning for climate change is regarded as dynamic adaptation process involving a multitude of scientific disciplines, while...
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Sixth Assessment Report, published in August 2021, highlights that climate change is “widespread, rapid, and intensifying,” with severe impacts on the built environment which is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events.
In recent years, climate action has gained increasing recognition on legislative multiple levels:...
The persistent divide between academic research and professional practice in spatial planning has long obstructed progress in addressing the complex realities of urban and regional development. While, on one hand, academic research prioritizes theoretical frameworks, long-term projections, and complex methodologies that advance knowledge, these contributions often fail to meet the immediate,...
One central challenge in planning theory education is connecting planning theory and practice. Planning theory literature is often difficult to comprehend, since its language can resemble an expert discourse, encoded and inaccessible to many readers (Thompson, 2000). Consequently, conventional lecture-based courses might not foster deep learning of planning theory. Furthermore, there are...
The intersection of food systems and urban planning has proven to be one of the permanent areas of theory and practice over the past two decades and has drawn insights into social studies scholars and urban planning practitioners (Morgan, 2013). While significant progress has been made in understanding and implementing urban food planning efforts, there are pitfalls of the theory and practice...
The need to expand the idea of justice from the individual human subject to the non-human and the planetary is increasingly recognized today, thanks to a growing body of theory nurtured by Indigenous, decolonial, and feminist posthuman philosophies (Winter, 2022). The emerging field of Multispecies Justice recognizes the interconnectedness of human and other-than-human oppression, seeking to...
This paper situates Nusantara, officially known as Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), within the discourse of speculative urbanism, highlighting its development complexities and uncertainties. Nusantara, Indonesia’s ambitious plan to relocate its capital to Borneo’s forests, covers 256,000 hectares and is projected for completion by 2040. While the core government zone is managed by the central...
As cities worldwide face growing social challenges such as socioeconomic segregation or climate injustices, engaging citizens in urban planning and development is considered increasingly important. Involving local communities not only leads to better understandings of local needs and potentially more effective plans, meaningful citizen-planner dialogues might also to help to foster trust and...
In the wake of advancements in information and intelligent technologies, urban development has transitioned into an era marked by heightened levels of intelligence and modernisation. Academics are now grappling with two fundamental questions: what will future communities resemble, and how can existing communities be progressively transformed to embody these futuristic ideals? Globally,...
The global population aging trend necessitates a deeper understanding of factors influencing older adults' physical and emotional well-being. Mental health disorders, particularly depression, are a critical concern in this vulnerable demographic group, per the WHO. While past studies indicate an association between participation in outdoor physical activity and improved mental health...
The pervasive influence of social media is fundamentally reshaping the logic of urban space (re)production and (re)consumption. As physical spaces are increasingly mediated through social media platforms, their value and meaning become progressively contingent upon digital dissemination effects, transforming tangible spaces into consumable images and symbols. Within this digital-spatial nexus,...
Shopping mall are undergoing a period of crisis, leading to the decline and closure of multiple complexes (Escudero-Gómez, 2024). In recent years, shopping mall formats have continually adjusted to meet consumers' diverse and personalized demands (Sung et al., 2023). Notably, commercial gentrification has had a profound impact on the transformation of business types and operational models in...
Sustainable mobility is intrinsically linked to the concept of spatial justice, which refers to the equitable distribution of resources, services, and access, often considered a fundamental human right (Soja 2010). Transport justice is vital to spatial justice, focusing on designing and developing equitable transport systems (Martens 2017). To attain sustainable mobility and transport justice,...
In recent years, cities around the world have launched ambitious urban transformation programs aimed at enhancing pedestrian mobility and improving public spaces. These initiatives often reflect a broader movement towards creating more livable and sustainable urban environments. Barcelona, with her internationally acclaimed Superblock flagship program, is a great example of that....
In recent years, urban proximity has received renewed attention in urban and transport planning as cities strive to create environments that promote sustainability, health and overall quality of life. While the environmental and health benefits of proximal urban environments are well documented - such as reduced carbon emissions, improved air quality and increased physical activity - the...
Several European countries are progressively redefining the terms of the social pact with their citizens and reconfiguring governance arrangements according to the idea of a smaller welfare state and more self-responsible citizens, some of whom themselves claim a more active role. These two-way pushes can be mutually reinforcing and have led to new opportunities and spaces for collaborative...
Canal Imperial de Aragón is one of the most significant hydraulic infrastructures throughout Europe and probable the most ambitious project in the history of Aragón. The project dates to 1528, at the time Acequia Imperial was being conceived, though it was built in the last quarter of the XVIII century. From Fontellas (Navarre) to Fuentes de Ebro (Aragón), this infrastructure has over 100...
Car dependence, a prevalent barrier to sustainable and inclusive mobility, emerges from complex interactions between spatial and individual determinants (Mattioli et al., 2016). While the process that relates both has always been challenging, reducing car pervasive impacts is a key aim for achieving a smarter, safer and fairer transport system. This makes the assessment of car dependence a...
Achieving carbon neutrality has become a key objective in global sustainability efforts, shaping climate policies and spatial planning strategies. In response to climate change, comprehensive plans are being developed globally to assess the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and implement strategies for their reduction. Many cities are formulating strategies to address this challenge....
Food systems lie at the intersection of sustainability, food security, and climate change. In Western societies, consumption patterns have a significant environmental footprint, yet only a small proportion of consumers prioritize seasonal and locally produced food. Urban areas are more susceptible to food insecurity, with certain populations facing greater challenges in accessing healthier and...
This research examines the transformative potential of bioregional design in redefining human-non-human connections within the Paphos landscape, focusing on carob and olive habitats as central agents of ecological and cultural transformation. Speculative mapping as the research methodology, contributes to uncovering hidden synergies and connections between human and non-human entities,...
Incremental historic urban district renovation has become a political consensus and trendy research field in China. Intertwined challenges have made sustainable incremental renovation an increasingly demanding job. This paper would like to introduce recent explorations with Beijing Hutong renovations as examples, illustrating the challenges and outlooks of incremental historic urban district...
The urban post-growth agenda critiques growth-driven urban planning by emphasizing ecological limits, social equity, and sustainable spatial organization (Schmid, 2022). It advocates transitioning away from economic growth dependency to sustainable governance. Globally, urbanization fosters economic activity but exacerbates environmental degradation and inequality. In Turkey, where the "urban...
Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) is a planning approach aimed at improving urban mobility through participatory and evidence-based decision-making. As a result, it requires extensive data collection and transport modeling. However, data collection and modeling for SUMPs face significant challenges particularly in large metropolitan areas of Türkiye. This paper presents challenges...
Effective implementation of sustainability policy involves the consideration of governance, evaluation, and a review of the results of an action (Bauer et al., 2012; Jones, 2019; Uittenbroek, 2016) (Bauer et al., 2012; Jones, 2019; Uittenbroek, 2016). But over the past decade, have cities been able to respond effectively to the challenge of circular transition and climate change?
To response...
Background
Public Spaces have the empirical role of crossroads and functional hubs, as well as symbolic and cultural meaning of defining the community that creates and uses them. Warsaw, as a city with a turbulent history, has experienced in the last century massive destruction of the majority of its urban tissue. In the earlier XIX. century its surface was limited due to the occupants'...
The Yellow River culture is one of the origins of Chinese civilization. The section of the Yellow River Basin in Qinghai Province contains more than 70% of the cultural heritage of Qinghai Province. It is not only the central hinterland for the inheritance of historical culture in Qinghai Province, but also a key node of the heritage corridor in the Yellow River Basin. Analyzing the...
Pockets of residential and commercial development have sprouted in Detroit since the bankruptcy of 2013. Some of these are visible and sizeable developments and they have been completed by established, large well-capitalized, White developers. However, there has always been and still is a smaller constituent of Black developers. Not much is known about these Black developers.
The paper aims...
This research explores the cinematic imagination of contemporary urban landscapes to contribute to the current transition debate. In our mediatized society, film, among other media, influences the dynamics and implementation of spatial transitions, particularly in the realm of the envisaged building shift in Flanders. This building shift includes the densification of urban centers in order to...
Cities are dynamic entities, continuously shaped by overlapping layers of history, culture, and imagination. Much like a palimpsest, these layers evolve, blur, and transform over time, redefining the city's identity and image. In an era of rapid urbanization and shifting cultural landscapes, understanding these urban palimpsests becomes critical for envisioning equitable futures, revitalizing...
In the contemporary global context, the intensifying climate, environmental, and social crises, combined with unsustainable and linear development models, raise pressing questions about the transformative role of territorial planning. Historically, planning has predominantly been focused on managing urban growth and facilitating spatial expansion, aligning with the dominant economic frameworks...
As cities face multiple challenges from climate change, rapid urbanisation, and resource scarcity, urban transitions have emerged as a critical framework for planning and rethinking urban futures. Circularity and sustainability are pivotal in these transitions, offering transformative approaches to managing resources, fostering resilience, and creating more equitable urban systems. However,...
According to Shatkin (2017), large-scale infrastructure projects act as catalysts for metropolitan expansion, promoting new urbanization dynamics and land-use changes. The structuring of the El Dorado II project, located near the Colombian capital, specifically between the municipalities of Madrid and Facatativá, exemplifies the promotion of urbanization dynamics in a region that has...
This paper explores the intricate relationship between city branding/ marketing, urban tourism and urban planning, emphasizing the need for effective collaboration between practitioners and academics in the context of Greek cities. Despite the potential benefits, tensions often arise between city branding strategies and urban development policies.
Research Purpose: The research aims to...
The roundtable arises from the conviction that the issue of “pluralism” – and the connected question of toleration – is today, more than ever, a crucial theoretical and practical problem in need of critical debate. The roundtable discussion is based on the recently published book “The Legal and Political Geography of Pluralism Supporting Diverse Public and Private Spaces in Contemporary...
Urban policies are not static—they evolve, adapt, and sometimes fade away. Their lifecycle is shaped by “middling actors”—urban professionals, activists, and bureaucrats—who navigate complex socio-political landscapes while co-producing and implementing policies, mediating between diverse stakeholders, and drawing on successful precedents. Yet, their work is fraught with tensions arising from...
Ongoing urbanization is fundamentally reshaping cities and their surrounding regions. As cities are growing well beyond their administrative boundaries to form highly complex, functionally integrated city-regions with their surrounding municipalities, coordinating spatial development between core cities and neighboring suburban and rural municipalities becomes a key policy challenge. How do...
With cities facing complex and systemic challenges, city-to-city (C2C) collaborations are increasingly recognised as an effective mechanism for municipal capacity building and transfer of knowledge and practices (Moodley, 2020). C2C exchanges have become a widely occurring phenomenon facilitated by city networks, funding programmes, and projects. It is positioned as a form of peer learning –...
This paper explores the possibility of scaling up experimental practices emerging from civic initiatives by incorporating them into participatory urban planning processes linked to the construction of wider urban/territorial strategies. The hypothesis of this paper is that in order to enable this scaling up of civic initiatives, participatory processes need to be rethought and innovated,...
Peri-urban territories are complex socio-spatial configurations that challenge the dichotomous theoretical categories of urban and rural inherited from urban theory. They represent the local-scale outcome of spatial restructuring processes that organically intertwine decentralization, deconcentration, and territorial dispersion. These phenomena are observable both in the distribution of...
Migration flows are becoming increasingly polarized in many cities worldwide, widening the gap between vulnerable and privileged migrants and, more broadly, sharpening class differences in our cities. This division is particularly evident in highly attractive and economically competitive cities like Zurich, where the polarization of the migration configuration is becoming evident in the social...
This presentation will discuss the empirical findings of our forthcoming article, which examines the role of architectural aesthetics in contemporary urban planning debates. While discussions on justice in planning typically focus on issues such as housing, infrastructure, and sustainability, the aesthetic qualities of the built environment remain relatively overlooked. However, the public...
Coastlines and estuarine river edges are changing. With sea levels rising, and continued coastal protection increasingly being financially and practically unviable, increased thought is being given to managing a retreat from vulnerable areas along urban river edges and coasts and learning to live with water. Flooding, however, isn't just about waters rising. National and international laws,...
The paper focuses on adaptation measures in Polish cities, particularly emphasizing the role of blue-green infrastructure in planning and strategic documents. The analysis covers the last two decades to register the change in approach to climate change and to show the tools that cities have started to use, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing (satellite and aerial...
Climate change adaptation, CCA henceforth, is nowadays a shared concern, deeply investigated and advocated by international research and political organisations. However, both CCA implementation and its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are challenges yet to be properly addressed. From a spatial planning perspective, local plans are the land-use-oriented tools with the highest potential to...
“Climate gentrification” is the new turn of phrase used to highlight the disproportionate impacts of climate change on low-income populations of color. Sea level rise threatens to dramatically reshape life on the Florida coast. As waters breach the tops of sea walls and bubble up from below, they erode the risk tolerance of wealthier residents to remain on the coast as inundation becomes more...
Urban farming plays a significant role in developing resilient cities by increasing food security, supporting local economies, and enhancing adaptability to climate-related stresses, especially when adopting agroecological practices. When the local community is engaged, urban farming can also strengthen social cohesion and bonding among farmers and neighbours, which is crucial for resilience....
Comprehensive urban masterplans, which regulate the growth and development of entire towns and cities, are a central arena for enacting climate-related policies, such as emissions reduction and adaptation. However, the climate-related knowledge that goes into these plans is understudied.
Knowledge in planning, in general, has been extensively researched. This includes, on the one hand,...
In this paper/presentation, we want to share the journey of our collective research project "Critical Mapping for Municipalist Mobilization" (CMMM). As a practice-oriented research project, CMMM was designed to support civil society actors in their struggles for just societies and cities in the pursuit of profound political transformation. In their quest to change power relations, mobilisers...
The success of energy transitions depends not only on technological advancements and funding mechanisms but also on the ability of local and regional policies to effectively engage communities. Just energy transition requires special attention to disadvantaged communities’ needs and capacities for transformation.
Despite increasing policy attention, marginalised neighbourhoods often face...
The concept of the 15-minute city has been widely discussed in literature and urban planning and design practice over the last few years. Emerging from the compact city idea, Carlos Moreno developed it further and transformed it into a more comprehensive vision. As a result, it caught the attention of researchers, local government leaders, and practitioners worldwide, with special attention...
Despite the widespread acknowledgement of the role of local communities in net zero transition, the approach in areas designated as conservation areas is predominantly expert driven with limited involvement from local communities. Conservation areas in England are areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance....
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) is an essential tool for ensuring sustainability and effective governance in coastal areas, particularly in regions facing high anthropogenic pressure and environmental vulnerabilities and uncertainties such as the Adriatic-Ionian Region. However, the implementation of its principles and recommendations still shows great difficulties.
This study...
As of December 2023, 34,078 North Korean defectors had entered South Korea, with more than 1,000 arrivals annually until 2019. The South Korean government, under the "Act on the Protection and Settlement Support of North Korean Defectors," provides comprehensive settlement assistance, including education, employment support, medical care, and housing. However, approximately half of North...
In the face of climate change, planning scholars and practitioners have challenged “conventional growth-driven development models” (track 1: post-growth urbanism) and opened the search for adaptation planning practices that could foreground planning futures beyond growth. In this attempt, stakeholder collaboration across public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors has become...
The increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related events have highlighted the fragility of urban areas, generating complex challenges in public spaces within cities. Communities are expressing a growing need to rapidly adapt urban environments to ongoing changes through a renewal process that integrates physical interventions in spaces with new housing models capable of responding to...
This study examines the governance dynamics of community-based street greening initiatives in Greater Sydney, Australia, focusing on the interactions between local governments and citizens in transforming public spaces into small-scale gardens. These urban gardening efforts, occurring in nature strips, verges, and footpaths, are often informal, community-driven projects that require innovative...
Wetlands are vital ecosystems, supporting 40% of global biodiversity while providing essential services such as flood regulation, carbon storage, and water purification. Despite their significance, wetlands rank among the most endangered habitats worldwide. Over the past 50 years, more than 35% have been lost due to urbanization, agricultural intensification, and pollution. In Europe, nearly...
Collaborative Housing and Planning: Institutional Interfaces in the UK and Spain
This research examines collaborative housing's contribution to planning practice through its function as an “institutional interface” through which housing struggles can be articulated and out into relation with the prevailing institutional logics of activity (Florea, Gagyi and Jacobsson, 2022). It investigates...
The concept of 'collaborative housing' refers to various housing models that feature shared spaces or facilities designed for collaboration, resident solidarity, participation in the redevelopment or design processes, and internal governance based on collaboration (Vestbro, 2010a; Bresson and Labit, 2020; Fromm, 2012; Czischke and Huisman, 2018). In contrast to traditional housing, these...
Planners and policymakers face significant challenges in designing policies that address the myriad planetary crises of the Anthropocene. These challenges arise from the unpredictability and uncertainty of political action (Chakrabarty, 2015; Davoudi, 2016) and the pressing need to tackle the climate crisis and environmental degradation (Davoudi et al., 2013). The United Nations (UN)...
The research conducted on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, located in Moroccan territory, represents an emblematic case of analysis of the intersection between different systems of spatial planning and management. The area of the Strait of Gibraltar and the city of Ceuta show a morphological and environmental continuity that has led to the establishment of the first Mediterranean Intercontinental...
Background
In the contemporary context of the discipline of urban planning in research and design, as well as in professional engineering practice of shaping urban spaces there is an unspoken questioning of paradigm. What is a good space, how to evaluate its quality and functioning? Various methods are being elaborated to describe and quantify spatial qualities or poor features. The...
An increasing number of children around the world are experiencing mental health problems such as anxiety and depression (UNICEF-WHO, 2021), and physical health problems such as myopia and obesity (Cai et al., 2017), particularly in China's metropolitan areas (Lin, 2018). Lack of physical activity (PA) is one of the main causes of this problem (Janssen and Leblanc, 2010; An et al., 2019; Patel...
Recently, a range of community-driven practices aimed at improving accessibility has gained increasing prominence and recognition. These initiatives, which emphasize the critical role of accessibility as a fundamental resource for activity participation and social inclusion, are characterized by a reliance on collaboration among individuals actively engaged in the co-creation and governance of...
Recent post-growth scholarship has begun to problematize the strong growth orientation in transport planning, with new investments in transport serving primary as ‘spatial’ or ‘mobility’ fixes, rather than serving other socio-ecological objectives. However, it has done so in ways that reproduce public sector-led and/or individual mobility transformations. It has thereby overlooked a wide range...
‘Commoning mobility’ emerged as a prominent concept in recent scholarship on just mobility transitions. From this perspective, which redefines mobility as a ‘collective good’, mobility is social and shared: mobilities are co-produced in that people plan and perform mobilities together. Given the interdependence and materiality of mobilities, people shape each other’s lives as they move (or...
The ongoing impacts of climate change have led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, which pose significant threats to local communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. In response to these challenges, this research examines flood risk awareness among residents and evaluates the effectiveness of authorities’ actions during flood crises....
Development strategies based on community potentials and capabilities have been increasingly employed over the last decades by the European Commission, World Bank, UN and others to foster local development worldwide. However, they are not a novelty. Since the 1950s these approaches have proliferated across geographies, encompassing various concepts, objectives, and forms. Examples include...
This research explores the role and social value of community infrastructure (McShane, 2006; McShane & Coffey, 2022) in regional Victoria, Australia in fostering social connections and place attachment, enhancing community resilience, and promoting psychological well-being. While facilities such as community hubs and recreational facilities serve as vital hubs for social cohesion, their...
In our research, we started looking at community ownership as specifically geographically defined communities having democratic control and ownership over land and buildings. In line with their long-term stewardship role, community landowners manage properties and dedicate their surpluses for the benefit of residents, other occupiers, as well as the wider community, and the environment....
According to UN-Habitat, over 2 billion people are expected to live in cities worldwide by 2050, which may increase disaster risk from devastating earthquakes and growing threats of floods and landslides, worsened by climate change. This scenario underscores the urgent need for local governments and planning authorities to create inclusive and risk-sensitive urban planning practices that...
With the rapid societal changes and the progress of urbanization, traditional libraries are increasingly unable to meet the diverse cultural service needs. The public’s perception of the role of public reading spaces has gradually shifted from venues that store books to being a form of social infrastructure that promotes social interaction. In recent years, a large number of community reading...
China's urbanization is transitioning from rapid development to high-quality development, with community renewal in old urban areas being a key component. However, due to the dispersed property rights and complex interests in old communities, the difficulty of community renewal has increased. New governance models are urgently needed to alleviate the contradictions and conflicts that arise.
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Caring for a garden bed along the street, where neighbors happily pick your herbs, may seem unimaginable for most urban inhabitants. However, in Sydney, Australia, public gardening practices have emerged, transforming bare public patches along roadsides into vibrant green spaces. By reimagining public space as a place for collective ecological and social regeneration, these practices challenge...
As climate change accelerates, its effects disproportionately impact vulnerable and historically marginalized populations, amplifying existing social and economic inequalities. Rural and coastal communities, Indigenous nations, and under-resourced regions often lack access to the scientific data, policy frameworks, and institutional support needed to navigate these challenges. The Institute...
Community-driven urban regeneration has long been a significant topic in urban policies and planning, sparking debates on the potential of bottom-up approaches, the risks of top-down interventions, and the role of spaces and funding. Scholars agree that this phenomenon lacks a unified theory and requires empirical observation to understand its dynamics, rooted in trial-and-error practices and...
Millions of people are displaced by natural disasters annually, and the economic impacts on communities can take years to recover. Engaging communities in disaster resilience is important to ensuring disaster-resilient planning achieves the best possible outcomes for the people and stakeholders impacted by disasters.
Engaging the people and communities impacted by disasters in the...
According to WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund, globally, about one in seven children are experiencing mental health problems. Because of their immaturity and psychological vulnerability, school-age children are highly susceptible to the impact of urban environments. As one of the most crucial components of urban mobility, the commuting-to-school environment is significantly...
Urban planning systems worldwide encompass various hierarchical plans, all incorporating statutory plans and rules for project development control. These statutory plans dictate the content and procedures for land development and construction projects to obtain planning permits. Urban development control systems can be categorized into two modes based on the relationship between statutory...
With the rapid development of rail transit, land resources in the areas around rail transit stations have become scarce and their value has skyrocketed. Many of the station area spaces of rail transit stations located in historical blocks in urban central areas do not match the goal of high-intensity development of station area spaces due to the restrictions of historical protection planning...
Over the past two decades, food policy networks have significantly contributed to transforming food systems globally. However, there remains a critical gap in understanding the precise impact and scope of these transformations, particularly when considering the diverse interfaces within the triad of science, policy, and action. This challenge becomes more pronounced during periods of...
South Korea has been experienced rapid increase in housing prices and residential instability due to job and industry concentration in the Seoul metropolitan region. The sharp rise in housing prices is one of the major factors that undermines residential stability and housing affordability. Many studies have highlighted the regional imbalance of jobs and industries as a key factor in the...
Urban areas face interconnected crises, including natural disasters, environmental issues, extreme climate changes, social and spatial inequalities, and displaced communities. Growth-oriented development models exacerbate these challenges by undermining ecological balance, social justice, and resilience. In Istanbul, a city with high earthquake risk and similar vulnerabilities, the need for...
Qinghai Province, situated in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, encompasses 517 designated cultural heritage sites at both national and provincial protection levels, distributed across its vast territory spanning 720,000 square kilometers. The spatial fragmentation of these cultural assets presents significant challenges to conservation efforts.
While contemporary scholarship on cultural...
The Mediterranean coast is warming at a rate 25% faster than the global average and 40% faster during the summer. This rapid climate change has heightened risks of food insecurity and heat exposure for local populations. These risks are further intensified by another major transition: urbanization. Since 1960, the Mediterranean and North Africa have seen their populations quadruple and their...
The transformative potential of public spaces, especially street transformations aimed at making cities child-friendly, lies in their ability to reimagine urban environments to better serve all inhabitants, particularly children. Streets, as children’s first public spaces, are crucial to their experience of the city. In vehicle-dominated cities, these spaces often become unsafe and...
Condification has resulted in city precincts across the globe being reshaped with tall buildings, sprinkled with small parks, and other limited social amenities. Our research addresses three significant challenges with codification: (a) design, maintenance and repair of condominium developments; (b) socio-economic limitations for further urban renewal of condominium precincts; and; (c) the...
Renewal of housing in condominium tenure presents unique challenges in urban regeneration due to complex decision-making requirements among co-owners. Condominium housing is prevalent in many countries. Extensive research exists on urban renewal in owner-occupied and rental housing, but condominium housing is grossly under-studied. Thus, the constraint to regeneration inherent in most...
The paper aims to address the issue of post-growth urbanism in low-density and marginalised contexts, where both the urban and the economy have not grown for a long time but where public administrations and citizens are unable to think of different interventions beyond growth.
The paper opens with a consideration of the definition of the study context, distinguishing between less favoured...
In the post-pandemic era, global urban tourism preferences are shifting towards more immersive experiences that emphasize deeper cultural engagement. Exploring local culture through walking or cycling has emerged as a trend that redefines urban tourism competition and service development priorities.
This study focuses on Xi'an, an ancient metropolis renowned for its rich history, to explore...
The concept of a heritage corridor represents a novel approach to the conservation and development of heritage assets. This approach has garnered increasing attention on the international stage in recent years; however, it remains in its infancy within the Chinese context. The majority of traditional studies on heritage corridor routing have been initiated from an environmental perspective,...
Urban waterfronts are the ecologically interwoven land-water zones where cities meet rivers, lakes, and the sea. They are important channels for the flow of resources and the circulation of species between land and water ecosystems (Naiman et al., 2010, Nilsson and Berggren, 2000). Their planning and control, as well as the improvement of spatial quality, have always been a hot topic in urban...
This study focuses on the construction of regional multi-dimensional proximity network and the application of collaborative agglomeration between regions, aiming to rethink the regional construction model and promote fair distribution of resources.
This study focuses on the construction of multidimensional proximity networks in regional areas and the exploration of their application in...
Urban regeneration has become a leading spatial development direction due to the social, political and economic changes brought about by transforming the post-socialist system in Central and Eastern Europe (Hlaváček et al., 2016). It was characterised by rapidly changing management and planning contexts in line with the Western solutions model (Scott, Kühn 2012). A long-term and comprehensive...
Active travel, including walking and cycling for transport, supports healthy, sustainable, and equitable societies. With growing populations, climate crises, and health concerns, active travel aligns with four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: climate change, health, sustainable cities, and sustainable transport. In car-centric nations, authorities are investing in active transport...
Daily physical activity is essential for a healthy society. In recent years, exercise habits have diversified, with people working out at home, in gyms, and in open public spaces. However, not everyone has the time or financial resources to go to the gym, and increasingly smaller homes often lack the space for indoor exercise. As a result, governments must implement public policies that...
Since the early 21st century, the conservation and revitalization of cultural heritage have emerged as global priorities in the fields of planning and architecture. However, the diverse intrinsic values of different heritage sites demand region-specific regeneration approaches that genuinely align with local contexts and community needs. While internationally recognized concepts such as the...
Given changing patterns of use of commercial space post-Covid, particularly offices, and situations of housing crisis being experienced in many places internationally, there is growing interest in adaptive reuse of commercial buildings for residential purposes. Sustainability considerations around the embodied carbon within building structures also makes such change of use schemes increasingly...
This study addresses the critical need to balance economic development with environmental sustainability, focusing on the coordination between capital flows and carbon emissions in the economically developed Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region from the perspective of environmental justice. By investigating the coupling mechanisms between resource allocation and carbon emissions, the research...
The challenges regarding European Metropolitan Regions are growing in these times of a polycrisis: climate change adaption, the energy transition and a turn towards a post-carbon-economy, and variegated socio-economic and spatial fragilities, are all building up stress levels in those regions. What happens in the ‘power houses’ of modern urban societies, and how can we navigate these areas...
The inclusion paradigm involves creating spaces where everyone feels comfortable, yet it raises a paradox: how can we achieve inclusivity in contexts where discomfort—stemming from extreme social and economic vulnerability in marginalized areas—defines daily life? How truly inclusive is inclusion, and which inequalities remain unaddressed or even worsened? This paradox forces us to consider...
Planning and law are two disciplines that are closely intertwined in practice, as legal norms have a decisive influence on planning processes and, conversely, they also change the interpretation and application of the law through everyday planning practices (Salet 2002: 26). The application of law plays a central role in planning practice for the success of a project. At the same time, spatial...
In an era defined by converging crises—climate change, environmental degradation, social inequalities—urban planning and policy urgently need new interpretative frameworks and actionable approaches to face complex sustainability challenges. These must integrate technical-scientific insights with imaginative efforts to foster behavioural change, activate institutional innovation, and catalyse...
This paper explores the urban typologies of the Creative District and the Innovation District, describing them in economic, social, and spatial terms, striving to understand their stated and achieved results and impacts, and on this basis to recommend policies that support urban development.
These two types of urban districts have some features in common, while differing in other aspects. As...
This paper examines the transformation of the NGBG community space in Malmö, Sweden. Originally established as a grassroots music festival eight years ago, it is now a key cultural hub fostering creativity and civic engagement. In the rapidly gentrifying SofieLund neighbourhood, NGBG faces mounting pressures as the city enforces a sound-free zone and implements a master urban plan for 2040,...
Abstract: The global refugee crisis reflects interrelated international challenges including, conflicts, housing shortage, and resource depletion. The Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan illustrates how such challenges can drive refugees to seek new opportunities and find innovative solutions. Located around 10 kilometers east of Mafraq and 12 kilometers south of the Syrian border, the camp evolved...
Since October 2019, Lebanon has been witnessing radical crises that revealed the fragility of the mainstream food system. The collapse of the banking sector, political instability, and the COVID-19 pandemic have drastically reduced purchasing power and exacerbated socio-economic vulnerabilities. Compounded by geopolitical tensions and the influx of Syrian refugees, these crises have...
This paper's contribution is ‘critical heritage urbanism’ that connects urban and heritage phenomena in addressing emerging urban issues of the Anthropocene. I reframed climate change as a cultural phenomenon and delved into the dynamics of water streams, wastewater flows, and treated water flows within the municipal climate heritage context in Izmir, while also exploring the path to...
Regions are increasingly interconnected through population mobility, economic exchanges, and infrastructure networks that create complex interdependencies, shaping regional development and resilience. As these connections deepen, the ability of regions to withstand disruptions becomes increasingly vital. In this context, critical infrastructures, such as electricity grids, water supply, and...
Border regions, often characterized by unique socio-economic dynamics and shared governance challenges, require robust data management systems to foster cross-border collaboration and sustainable development. This research investigates the purpose and implementation of data management practices in border regions of different countries, focusing on their potential to address cross-border...
Crises and conflicts at different spatial scales have some planetary consequences. Interventions on commons spaces (state or private sector) have increased with the acceleration of privatization policies in 2008, and debates on the commons theory have re-entered the agenda. The struggles on the commons offer a new perspective of space and a new ontology of politicization in the creation of...
This study examines the complex challenges inherent in the public-public partnership established in 2023 between SEPES—the Public Land Entity under the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda (MITMA)—and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The primary objective of this partnership is to repurpose decommissioned military sites for social housing, thereby fostering socially...
Border regions often face particular challenges, especially with regard to governance structures, institutional framework conditions and interregional cooperation. These problems concern both international borders, as addressed in the context of EU initiatives such as INTERREG, and intra-national borders, for example between federal states. While national borders have long been addressed in...
The issue of enhancing cultural heritage increasingly intersects with the significant challenges of contemporary society - climate change, depletion of non-renewable resources, social inequalities, and the crisis of the welfare State - all of which are leading to significant changes in the socio-economic and spatial models of territories. Over the last decade, the concept of Cultural Heritage...
Spanning thousands of years, the Silk Road is the link between the exchange and integration of Eastern and Western civilization. Xi'an, as the eastern starting point of the Silk Road, has long been a gateway to this historic trade route. The Shaanxi section is home to a vast array of cultural heritages, which not only form the core of Silk Road cultural conservation efforts but also represent...
In times of war, culture and the arts are often among the first to face budget cuts and censorship. Yet, cultural policy does not simply disappear; it is reconfigured, taking on new roles and meanings. This paper examines how municipal policymakers in Tel Aviv navigate cultural policy during wartime, both as a case study and as a basis for developing a typology of the roles culture assumes in...
The relationship between the economic cycles inherent in capitalist systems and technological innovations, including digital platforms, is a critical topic in both classical and political economic approaches to urban economics and planning. Digital platforms, such as those involved in sharing economies (e.g., Airbnb, Uber), remote working platforms, and recently AI platforms, have become...
In the second half of the 20th century with the expansion of motorised transport "traffic function" of the streets started to dominate over the "place function”. The up-to-date urban mobility faces critical problems that require fast, innovative and effective solutions. One of the most visible problems is traffic congestion, which reduces traffic efficiency, increases pollution levels and...
Planning is a collective action, and planners work in increasingly more diverse interdisciplinary teams which involve both experts and non-experts. Learning is an essential component of such interdisciplinary collaborations. In this study, we focus on professional learning as an integral part of everyday planning practice and consider planners as storytellers of this practice (Watson, 2002)....
As data becomes a pivotal element in urban development, data governance has emerged as a transformative framework for allocating decision-making authority and responsibilities. Data governance is a system that allocates decision-making authority and responsibilities through data, and it has become increasingly common in the transformation of governance in megacities around the world. Unlike...
Pedestrian-friendly cities are crucial for sustainable urban development, as they prioritise walkability through safe, accessible, and appealing environments that promote healthier lifestyles and reduce reliance on motorised transport. These cities enhance social cohesion, economic activity, and public health by fostering active transportation modes and creating more liveable neighbourhoods....
The spatial notion of resilience has recently been extended into urban and territorial dimensions, reflecting the perspective on cities as complex and multi-level entities driven by constantly changing and evolving flows and relations (Krueger et al., 2022; Schröder, 2022). The recent bibliometric analysis showcases the accelerated proliferation of “territorial resilience” in the planning...
Identifying the built-environment characteristics related to the thermal environment is crucial for mitigating climate issues through planning interventions. Existing studies typically use linear regression, which struggles to accurately depict the complex association patterns between the built environment and the thermal environment. Taking the central urban area of Zhengzhou, China as an...
Planning tools are becoming increasingly digital (e.g. Bielik et al., 2021; Streich, 2011). But there are still several gaps between analysis tools (mainly with GIS, but also CAD) and design tools (mainly with visualization programs or CAD). At the same time, demographic and other social data as well as spatial data are increasingly differentiated and available at different scales (e.g. Liao...
The spatial decisions made by regulators and policy makers have been formulated through evolving practices and incorporate a range of values from multiple sources. This applies to both terrestrial planning and marine planning but is particularly complex at the coast where regulatory and policy regimes overlap. The way is which diverse values are considered within these regulatory and policy...
Barcelona's innovation district 22@Barcelona, shaped by the discourses of 'public-private partnership', 'public participation', and 'planning flexibility', has been promoted as an ideal template for neo-liberal practices in global cities around the world. Over the past 25 years, numerous literature critically examined 22@Barcelona(Piró, E. E. , 2016; López, J. A. M. , 2018; Martín-Gómez, A., &...
Environmental degradation is a severe challenge in the rapidly expanding cities in the Global South. Amidst the uncontrolled urban growth in low- and middle-income countries, a tendency prevails to follow the same environmentally destructive pathways and mindsets that the wealthier colonial powers have laid out in the past. The greatest obstacle is the mindset of contemporary societies: lack...
Flood disasters are among the most frequent and damaging natural hazards globally, with their impacts exacerbated by urbanization (Rentschler et al., 2023). The precise identification of high-risk flood zones is crucial for effective disaster-resilience planning. Recent advancements in deep learning demonstrate potential in flood prediction, enabling the extraction of complex, nonlinear...
In today's world, the rapidly increasing urban population and the corresponding rise in energy demand have made optimizing energy consumption in buildings a critical issue for urban planners and policymakers. Traditional energy consumption prediction models typically focus on static building features and environmental factors, yet they may not fully capture the influence of population density...
Coasts have always been preferred living spaces with the wide range of opportunities they offer. In addition to benefiting from natural resources, coastal cities are also preferred settlements with their advantages in terms of trade. In addition to the daily life shaped by the coast, large-scale functions such as ports, warehouses and shipyards play a major role in the formation of the...
The article investigates how (bio-)regional identity mediates the rearrangement of urban-rural relations in the planning of sustainable regional economies. It researches the issue of identity within the emergent field of degrowth urban and planning studies. Degrowth scholarship largely neglect the issue of identity and can be accused to run the risk of co-option by far-right ideologies....
Rapid urbanization and the growth of mega-cities have resulted in numerous risks, concerns, and problems across various aspects of urban life, including environmental, social, and economic domains. Cities and regions are inevitably moving toward urban digitalisation owing to the fast-paced development of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The concept of 'smart city' represents...
In this context of systemic crises and the advance of neoliberal logic, citizen participation has become a central theme in urban agendas and political discourse (European Union, 2023; United Nations, 2015, 2017). However, its centrality reflects a tension: on the one hand, the instrumentalisation of participation as a tool for appeasement and legitimation of decisions shaped by market-driven...
A large number of cities in East Asian metropolitan areas today are facing problems such as over-concentration of population, low fertility rates, aging, and demographic imbalances. This article focuses on the demographic changes, which includes population size and demographic structure，in the four prefectures in Tokyo metropolitan area in Japan over the past two decades and analyses the...
Digital Twin (DT) technology revolutionises urban and spatial planning, providing dynamic, real-time digital replicas of physical environments. This technology enables planners to simulate, analyse, and optimise urban spaces. By integrating data from various sources, such as models, sensors and IoT devices, DTs offer a comprehensive view of urban systems, facilitating informed decision-making....
Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly adopted worldwide to tackle urban environmental challenges, but their governance and implications for environmental justice remain contested. Current research on the implications of NbS on environmental justice often critiques NbS projects for reinforcing inequalities through neoliberal governance and exclusive planning, with limited focus on how...
This paper discusses the socio-economic and environmental deprivation patterns across provinces in Turkey by applying the English Index of Deprivation framework. In this study, data from TURKSTAT were used to assess disparities and determine the prime areas that need development interventions. The research underlines notable regional disparities by analyzing seven domains: income, employment,...
Recent scholarship challenges solely human-centric approaches to urban design (Yigitcanlar et al., 2019), suggesting a shift in perspective. Consequently, there is a growing recognition of more-than-human perspectives, asking for better integration of designers' views for urban cohabitation (Metzger 2023; Roudavski 2021), for example in the context of urban placemaking in public spaces (Sheikh...
The paper will present and discuss challenges in interdisciplinary student collaboration where the students have different skills and experiences in design and visualization. The paper is based on the reflections on ten years of teaching “Projects in urban development: Architecture, form and space” course. Approximately 60 students participate every year and belong to three different master’s...
Setting the context: global pressures/water challenges
Cities are under pressure due to multiple and conflicting social, economic, and environmental challenges. Water cities such as coastal territories, river cities and delta regions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate extremes which are pushing public authorities to identify adaptive interventions across scales and...
Abstract
Integration of the spatial planning systems between EU member states and candidate countries remains a critical challenge in fostering territorial cohesion, particularly in the fringe regions. The existing socio-economic conditions, historical and cultural legacies, techno-political dynamics, and diverse governance structures contribute to a complex and multidimensional regional...
Urban accessibility construction from a global perspective emphasizes the enhancement of inclusiveness and equity in cities. Community public spaces, as central hubs of daily life, serve as crucial entry points for advancing urban accessibility initiatives. With the aging population and a growing number of individuals with disabilities, the creation of barrier-free environments in the older...
Designing and planning the retreat of urban areas where needed is an alien concept for the urban planning and design realm. Spatialization of degrowth within post-growth urbanism context is also a relatively new pursuit. The built environment of cities once produced as solutions to specific problems within a specific climate is now facing problems as the results of previous eras’ solutions and...
Introduction
Weight stigma—a societal bias linking body weight to personal failure—spatially excludes overweight adolescents from public sports areas by intensifying fears of social judgment. In Shanghai’s Quyang Park, overcrowded and highly visible exercise zones deter this group from physical activity, worsening health disparities. This study examines how spatial configurations...
Urban planning education faces challenges related to rapid global change, social and spatial transformations in cities, and climate change. It promotes sustainable practices, place-making, and participatory models while emphasising interdisciplinarity as essential for addressing contemporary urban issues. New educational approaches must incorporate emerging technologies and renew existing...
In Europe, multiple crises (economic, environmental, social, demographic, …) are impacting the quality of life in urban contexts, with direct consequences on the “affordability” of housing and the resilience of welfare facilities. While sustainability, inclusivity, and accessibility “for all” are central to many urban regeneration interventions, their translation into local actions often...
Climate change poses significant risks to urban areas, particularly the phenomenon of urban heat island (UHI) effect, which exacerbates thermal stress and environmental degradation in densely populated cities. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has identified rising urban temperatures as a critical challenge, with projections indicating that by 2050, 68% of the global population will reside in...
Climate change risks affect various aspects of urban life - social, cultural, spatial, or their intersections. How the built environment is conceived and designed affects how people live, work, and recreate and, at the same time, how people respond to risks. Such risks, like urban heat island effects (UHIs), flooding, etc., threaten urban community resilience and increase vulnerability...
Change is rarely straightforward and is often met with resistance, especially in complex urban settings. To address these challenges, cities are increasingly adopting tactical implementation methods—small-scale, testable interventions that are backed by data-driven insights. These approaches allow for real-time testing, evaluation, adaptation, and appropriation, providing the evidence needed...
The climate and ecological crises have generated diverse narratives about the planet’s future. Dramatic mitigation and adaptation actions are essential to ensure liveable futures for both humans and the more-than-human world. Scientific assessments, particularly the IPCC reports, provide critical insights into the consequences of action and inaction. The AR6 advances this by combining the...
In dialog with recent research on urban planning, race and ethnicity (e.g. Mele 2017; Beebeejaun 2022; Williams 2024), in this paper I examine the planning of camps for socially disadvantaged, Eastern European Roma by the municipality of Rome from 1993 to 2020. Drawing on extensive archival, policy and interview-based research, I trace the intersections of political economy and planning...
Sustainable transport is an elementary part of all climate change mitigation strategies. As one of the most prominent examples of climate-neutral efforts, the Green Deal of the European Commission explicitly strives for efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport and mobility systems, in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement 2015.
In that context, a research cooperation...
The use of hydrogen will play a central role in achieving climate neutrality. The decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries as well as the power and transport sectors will only be possible by using high-energetic synthetic energy storages, like hydrogen. With storage options for volatile renewable energy production, hydrogen is an integral part of sector coupling and thus an important...
Contemporary cities have been characterized by complex structures and configurations that limit the ability of citizens to get involved in a dialogue about their neighborhood, their city, and ultimately, the place where they live their lives. The conceptual schema of patterns and urban types has been proposed as a powerful tool for understanding, planning, and discussing the city, even from...
Urban environments have a profound impact on public health. The design and management of such places play a significant role in shaping air quality and thus respiratory health. Despite growing awareness of the health implications of urban design, little is known about how to improve air quality of neighborhoods. Most urban design guidelines have focused on creating walkable neighborhoods...
Research Background
As global efforts to mitigate the climate crisis intensify, the development and application of effective policy tools to achieve carbon neutrality have become increasingly critical. In South Korea, urban planning mandates the integration of carbon emission and absorption data and the monitoring of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets established every five years. To...
The urban construction zone of Xianyang City is located adjacent to Xi’an, a central metropolis in northwest China, forming the core region of the Xi’an metropolitan area. Suburban villages in Xianyang not only benefit from the influence of Xianyang’s central urban area but are also significantly impacted by the Xi’an metropolitan area. Leveraging advantages in location, land resources, labor...
This paper aims to analyse how the current housing and rental crisis unfolds in Brazilian and Latin American cities in a context of both (i) the rising role of rental housing as a new frontier for the accumulation of financial real estate capital, and (ii) the limitations of overcoming the housing crisis through planning.
The global cases discussion at the Rental Housing Policies Seminar...
Since the early 1990s, there has been a global trend towards creating fully
digital cadaster systems as a part of a larger group of Digital Tools for Planning,
which are increasingly becoming an integral part of the city’s digital infrastructure (Enemark and Sevatdal (1999)). However, this group of tools is not the end
goal, but rather the means to streamline larger socioeconomic...
This study investigates the spatial distribution of digital classes and their relationship with social resilience across South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving beyond traditional measures of the digital divide, this research adopts a multidimensional digital literacy framework, incorporating emerging competencies such as AI literacy, to reflect the evolving realities of the digital...
In the context of the European debate on the valorisation of the most fragile and scarcely accessible territorial contexts, a key role has long been recognised for heritage, no longer a static constraint to be preserved, but a real driving force in territorial cohesion and development policies. Heritage has acquired a central role in stimulating the exchange of specialised and local knowledge,...
The present intervention explores the different ways in which the heritisation of the old city of Tunis has continued since the Tunisian revolution of 2011. It focuses on the ways in which the historic urban fabric has been the object of discourse and practice by urban planners, architects and tourism entrepreneurs, the latter category comprising individuals and businesses ranging from the...
This presentation focuses on how digital tools can support cities in achieving carbon neutrality by providing smarter decision-making frameworks. Using examples from the UP2030 project in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, it highlights tools like “Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) and Urban Building Transport Energy Modeling (UBTEM): AI-based Digital Decisionmaking Tool for Decarbonization”....
The interplay of characteristics shaping local digital neighborhoods remains an underexplored area of research. This paper introduces a conceptual multilevel model that integrates social structure, sociocultural dynamics, built environment, infrastructure, and digital structure to analyze variations in digital urban lifestyles (DUL). The hypothesis suggests that the interaction of these...
Digital environments, which entered our lives in the 1990s and have become increasingly widespread, have profoundly affected social norms and the relationship between people and the artificial products of digital integration. Digitalization has radically changed our communication habits, with face-to-face interactions gradually being replaced by digital platforms. E-mail, online chat rooms,...
In this paper, I consider the dimensions of power and governance in the planning of second homes in the Municipality of Sigdal, Norway. Multiple authors have commented on how neoliberal economic policy has impacted both methodology and outcome in land use planning, where land has been treated as an economic asset rather than as a public good. In Norway, these influences are particularly...
Albania is one of the countries with a high level exposure and high level of vulnerability towards disasters. Over the years, several disasters (earthquake, flooding, wildfires) have had a great impact in lives and economic losses showing clear gaps in the system and the inability of the governance structures to be able to prevent or respond in time. Meanwhile, climate change is expected to...
In Finland, the established institutional frameworks and practices of spatial governance have generated a fairly stable regional order of core-periphery relations. Now this order is being challenged by the green transition and associated new technologies and market opportunities. Areas formerly peripheral have emerged as new centres of attention for green investments. What are the...
The interaction between migration, access to housing, and depopulation provides a significant perspective on how Italian territories adapt to global dynamics and the role of public reception policies in addressing social urban inequalities. This paper proposes the case study of INTRA, a social cooperative located in Avellino, Campania, to examine the connection between Italian migrant...
In an ever-evolving academic sphere, the role of journals in shaping the future of research and discourse in the planning field is more critical than ever. On the other hand, for early career scholars, academic publishing can be a difficult terrain to navigate. This roundtable will explore the broader challenges and opportunities within academic publishing in planning with a special focus on...
Over the last 22 years of single-party rule in Turkey, both the private sector and the state have made significant investments in housing aligned with a construction-based growth model. While this approach has yielded quantitative results, housing affordability for middle- and lower-income classes, particularly in urban areas, has become a major concern. The housing crisis remains a critical...
Production of public space especially in a city center is a long-lasting process which needs to provide a balance between private and public sphere and space through the planning and urban design process. After the privatization has become prevalent, the publicity sense and acceptance have been changed dramatically in terms of the private profits and the public concept has lost its importance....
In this paper I explore the impact of redevelopment-related forms of displacement on housing affordability and household economic well-being, focusing on both for-profit and not-for-profit urban redevelopment projects in Switzerland. Research in the U.S. has shown that forced displacement and evictions lead to lower incomes and housing stability, as households experience reduced earnings...
This contribution takes a look at the affected tenants under economic pressure in the private rental sector in Vienna and how those have navigated their experiences of (displacement) pressure by incorporating seeking help at institutional interventions into their strategies. In Vienna, Austria, housing affordability has decreased especially with the onset of multiple crisis-related dynamics,...
South Africa’s 31 years of democracy have been characterized by robust legislative efforts to address spatial inequalities entrenched by apartheid. Policies such as the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), the White Paper on Housing (1994), the Municipal Systems Act (2000), and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA, 2013) have laid the groundwork for spatial...
The call for justice is omnipresent in the planning of the energy transition, both in academia and policy practice. Over the past decades, research on justice has flourished, resulting in various frameworks and conceptualizations of justice (Basta, 2016; Fainstein, 2010; Stein and Harper, 2005; Weghorst, Buitelaar, and Pelzer, 2024). Despite the growing academic attention to justice and its...
Whilst cities increasingly develop urban food policies to promote sustainable food systems, the role of local food-sharing landscapes remains underexplored, particularly in understanding how diverse urban populations engage in food-sharing activities.
In response, this paper examines local food-sharing initiatives (FSIs) as key actors in engaging diverse communities. By analysing FSIs’ roles...
Car-restrictive policy measures such as low-traffic zones and car-free streets are increasingly implemented as cities seek to address challenges related to congestion, air pollution and climate change (Da Schio et al. 2023). While these measures aim to create more sustainable and livable urban environments, their implementation often sparks intense public and political debate. Transport stands...
Social area analysis has been applied to analyze how urban space is spatially arranged. Related studies have divided urban residents into different groups whose socioeconomic status are similar. However, few studies have attempted to explore the mobility of these social groups, especially for developing countries where census data with travel information are not readily available. This study...
A major problem associated with large-scale public housing is social exclusion. Large-scale standalone public housing complexes concentrate poverty and stand out compared to market-rate housing. In such environments, ordinary people may develop prejudices against public housing, causing public housing residents to experience discrimination. Referring to residents living in 'Humansia,' which is...
The question of the effects of planning is an old issue for the urban planning research community. Yet, urban plans have been widely criticized for being “rigid”, “inflexible”, “inefficient” (Demazières and Desjardins, 2016) to the point of causing the field to lose interest in these documents (Hopkins and Knaap, 2018). Their usefulness is sometimes even seen mainly (only) in gathering actors...
Contemporary urban planning policies increasingly focus on proximity-based planning, most notably, the 15-Minute City concept (15-m city). In this framework, it is argued for the development of mixed-use neighborhoods, in which most essential services such as groceries, schools, health care, and recreation are located within easy reach on foot or bike. Even though the 15-Minute City paradigm...
The balancing of economic, environmental and social goals is widely discussed in planning theory and practice. It could have been expected thus that sustainability, which also seeks to balance these goals, would be at the center of planning practice and theory, and that planners will play a central role in advancing sustainability world-wide. Yet this is not the case. Planners’ role in the...
Graffiti, as a transformative element of the contemporary urban landscape, plays an important role in the consolidation of cultures and identities. Despite its relevance, the graffiti scene is predominantly male, and women face difficulties in being accepted in this field (Pabón-Colón, 2018), reflecting the oppressions of the patriarchal system (Federici, 2017). Consequently, feminist...
Urbanization has facilitated the flow of resources between urban and rural areas, breaking the traditional internal balance mechanism that ensured the mutual adaptation of agriculture, farmers, and rural communities. The relatively closed, self-sufficient rural development model, shaped by the historical relationship between people and land, has transformed into a more open urban-rural social...
As the complexity of urban disaster management increases, the construction of urban disaster-related ontologies becomes crucial. However, existing urban disaster-related ontologies do not sufficiently consider human factors, particularly in the knowledge modeling of dynamic interactions among humans, disasters, and the environment in disaster response, making it difficult to effectively...
The paper stems from a nationally funded project at the intersection of research and design called “Unconventional Affordable Housing”, involving the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) at Politecnico di Milano, the University of Trieste and the University of Bari. In this context, a collaboration was launched between DAStU and the city administration of San Donato Milanese....
The combined impact of climate change and urban problems causes chaotic effects in urban areas. Urbanisation is inevitable; it is crucial to design an urban area that can adapt to these circumstances and mitigate the issues of climate change and urbanisation. This study deals with creating an efficient city that has increased the quality of life of people, uses resources efficiently and is...
The Historic Center of Lima is an urban palimpsest that reflects the various stages of the city's growth. The initial orthogonal and regular grid, typical of hispanic cities, was altered during the 20th century by massive road widening projects that prioritized automobiles over pedestrians. This process led to an inadequate distribution of available urban space, as vehicular asphalt areas...
Street space as a public open space in urban areas functions not only for mobility but also as a place for the informal economy, such as street vendors (PKL) activities. This research explores how street space in Makassar City can be utilized equitably through temporary and sharing space approaches, which accommodate the needs of the informal economy without reducing the main function of...
With the effects of the globalising world and rapidly changing dynamics, the place of culture in urban development policies and its share in local development is becoming increasingly important (Kagan et al.,2018). It is essential to understand the cultural economy, one of the areas where urban development is reconceptualised in the new economic geography (Gibson & Kong, 2005), to produce...
Ecopolis. What does a post-growth city may look like?
Cristiano S. (), Fabbro S. (), Faraone (), Fini G. (*)
() Architecture Department, Univ. of Florence (Italy)
(*) DPIA Department, Univ. of Udine (Italy)
In the second decade of the century, Espon, the European Agency for territorial studies, conducted scenario studies on the future of the European city, examining three...
The paper proposes to explore the issue of spatial justice through the concept of the eco-public network, conceived as the intersection of spaces that integrate ecological and social values.
North-East Italy, the object of this analysis, is characterised by a recurrent tendency towards disconnection, with a growth model that has produced fragmentation and territorial, economic and...
In the era of the Anthropocene, faced as we are with the harsh realities of global issues, including the collapse of ecosystems and climate breakdown, the need for a transformation of planning education and pedagogies is more urgent that ever (Frank & da Rosa-Pires 2021). In our rapidly changing world, in which cities play a central role for the sustainability of the planet, a different...
A recent study conducted by ‘Save the Children’ identifies the scarcity of childcare services and the inadequate quality of educational offerings as the main causes of educational poverty, emphasizing how this phenomenon is closely linked to the level of material poverty in which families live.
This issue is particularly evident in Palermo (Sicily, Italy), where disparities are especially...
Education plays a pivotal role in shaping urban and territorial dynamics and social trajectories. For instance, well-distributed and accessible education systems can affect residential choices, stimulate local economies, and foster innovation. Conversely, inadequate education infrastructure can lead to spatial inequalities, reinforcing cycles of poverty and limiting opportunities for upward...
With any innovative technological development and application, the "monitoring and evaluation" of impact is essential. Regarding the emerging area of urban "Digital Twins", this is even more critical as citizens should and are at the centre of this innovation, and their collaborative engagement and "buy in" will ensure the successfully delivery. It is widely accepted in all fields of study...
Electrification of vehicles is considered a promising strategy to mitigate the increasing environmental and energy challenges caused by the growing demand for vehicular travel. As these benefits of EVs are closely linked to their market size, comprehending the determinants of EV adoption is crucial.
Built environment (BE) characteristics, known to profoundly impact motor vehicle adoption, may...
Unjust practices have shaped the built environment, encompassing land dispossession, discriminatory land use planning and regulations (Goetz, et al, 2020), harmful material extraction (Malin et al., 2019), toxic production processes, and wasteful construction, consumption, and demolition practices (Grace Farms, 2023; Huuka, 2023). Current building practices and land development processes have...
In recent decades, the role of cultural heritage has evolved, shifting from a passive object of protection to an active resource in territorial and urban regeneration processes. This evolution is evident in recent definitions, policies, and management practices that reflect an integrated vision of heritage—not merely as material inheritance but as a dynamic network of relationships involving...
The present research investigates the relationship between transport acceleration projects and growth-based development strategies and subsequently compares these with the emergence of opposing trends in the possibility of post-growth urbanism.
The rhetoric surrounding the effects of infrastructure on territorial development has long been a subject of debate among scholars (Plassard, 1990;...
Over the last decade, Frankfurt and the surrounding Rhein-Main region in Germany, experienced vast investments of the data centre economy, around the DE-CIX, the world’s largest and fastest internet exchange point. This resulted new planning regulation and new relevance for the region for data centres. On the other hand, the German lignite mining region “Rheinisches Revier” faces enormous...
In an era of planetary crises, urban planning and design face immense challenges as cities become both contributors to and victims of climate change. Addressing these challenges requires innovative tools and frameworks, particularly within urban climate governance—a multi-level system engaging local governments, civil society, private sectors, and residents (Sarzynski, 2015; Hügel & Davies...
Urban emotion is a crucial indicator of spatial quality, and emerging popular check-in streets, as new carriers of urban cultural and economic development, deserve particular attention for their emotional characteristics. Previous studies have largely focused on emotional perception at the macro-urban scale, with limited attention to street-level emotional features, while existing evaluation...
Housing has become marketized and to a variegated extent financialized even within traditional welfare states in Northern Europe. Within the Finnish housing landscape private landlordism is on the rise and state support also emphasizes the changing stance towards market responsibility to provide housing. Private landlords are subsidized both through tax benefits as well as indirectly through...
Public spaces, including (in)formal temporary hawker bazaars on publicly owned land, serve as important sites for transformative urban changes and inclusive community-building. This paper examines the Saving Pang Jai Campaign, a self-mobilised, community-led planning initiative in Hong Kong in the mid-2010s that sought to preserve and reimagine the Yen Chow Street Temporary Hawker Bazaar...
Since the advent of industrialization, food production and distribution systems have prioritized profit over social and environmental considerations. In response, alternative business models that emphasize community-oriented, environmentally sustainable, and socially conscious approaches to food systems have received increasing academic and practical attention. Even though cooperatives are not...
Climate change, biodiversity loss, and deepening socio-economic inequalities are global crises that increasingly compel urban governments to adopt transformative planning actions. Istanbul, significantly impacted by these challenges, also possesses unique potential for generating sustainable solutions. The city is distinguished by its rich historical context, multi-layered natural and cultural...
Since the 2010s, Urban Mega Projects (UMPs) have become the dominant mode of Istanbul’s spatial development, driving expansion into its northern territories. The clustered scheme of UMPs - including the Northern Marmara Highway, Istanbul Airport, Kanal İstanbul, and New Istanbul - represents not only mega-scale spatial interventions but also an unprecedented transformation in speed, scope, and...
This contribution arises from the ongoing research project HyperSCAPES: Extreme Infrastructure Projects and New Forms of Urbanity in the Anthropocene, and the MSCA project Integrating Energy and Logistics Hubs: Sustainable Infrastructure Development in Second-tier Mediterranean Ports, both conducted at the Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, Politecnico...
Achieving fair and inclusive urban energy transitions is a pressing societal challenge, particularly in the context of the ongoing climate and energy crisis. These transitions extend beyond technical upgrades or infrastructural changes; they necessitate a rethinking of social relations, governance models and economic structures. While concepts and frameworks such as Energy Communities and...
The topic of energy transition and energy savings for residential buildings is a crucial issue for present and future territories both with respect to environmental and climate change challenges and with respect to issues of inclusion and social justice (Rotondo et al. forthcoming). Although the literature is very fertile in this area (see, for instance, Bridge and Gailing, 2020; Scott, 2022),...
Using renewable energy sources is not a new phenomenon in Australia. In 2023, 39.4% of the country’s total electricity generation came from renewable energy sources with NSW the highest user of renewables in Australian states in terms of megawatts (Clean Energy Council, 2024). Using more renewable sources for energy became a priority in Australia and many other parties involved in “The Paris...
In the face of interlinked socio-ecological challenges, energy transitions are increasingly framed not merely as technical undertakings but as urban projects that reshape spatial, social, and political relations. This paper examines the case of Cureghem, one of the most socio-economically vulnerable and culturally diverse neighborhoods in the Brussels Capital Region, through the lens of...
Starting with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global agenda has increasingly emphasized the critical intersection of urban planning and public health. Though, the principles of healthy living and enhancing quality of life have always been embedded in urban planning and design goals, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals particularly related to Good Health & Well-being and...
Despite numerous initiatives at the European level to reduce land take, built-up areas continue to expand more rapidly than population growth throughout Europe (Schiavina et al., 2022). Legal and policy frameworks at the EU, national, and local levels outline land protection, soil management, and ecosystem restoration obligations. Moving forward, cities will increasingly need to redevelop...
Climate change poses major challenges to water management and agricultural sectors across Europe. Floods, drought and water pollution require the development of resilient governance structures. In the framework of the FARMWISE project, funded by the Horizon Europe programme, this study aims to analyze the resilience of actor networks within eight European case studies (CS) —Italy, Poland,...
The need for sustainable rural revitalization has become a pressing global challenge. Innovation ecosystem plays a significant role for driving local revitalization, economic growth and social inclusion in rural area. It explores main research question: How can HEIs enhance governance frameworks to foster innovation ecosystems and drive rural revitalization?
The study draws on the innovative...
Recently, the integration of electrical micro-mobility (EMM) into urban mobility and transformation has been extensively studied across various fields. However, its application in age-inclusive travel, particularly for school commuting among teenagers (ages 13–17), remains underexplored. Surprisingly, studies on EMM travel experiences indicate a growing interest among young students. This...
Open spaces inner cities are having a crucial role in reducing the negative effects of urban heat islands (UHIs) in cities, creating conditions for easier sustainable commuting people inner cities. Green areas, such as parks, urban forests in cities are providing cooling effects and help to lower the temperature in urban climate by providing shade and facilitating evapotranspiration (Gherri,...
Istanbul, a city where sea transportation has historically played a significant role, currently faces a decline in the share of this mode in the overall public transport system to less than 3%. This decrease, despite the city’s geographic advantages, is attributed to multifaceted factors such as the integration of sea transportation, accessibility challenges, and user habits. On the other...
Spatial planning is frequently characterised as a lengthy, bureaucratic process with ambiguous outcomes and insufficient tools for implementation. The enduring question of “Does planning deliver?” alongside concerns about plan evaluation has persisted over the decades (see, for instance, Faludi 2000). Composing a spatial plan, whether for a railway, offshore wind farm, or historic residential...
In the context of climate change and the prospect of rising sea level and floods, urban waterfronts are seen as increasingly vulnerable geographies between the urban fabric and the sea. At the same time, they are attractive terrains for investment that transform varied coastlines to new landscapes of leisure and high end residential developments. Such large scale projects of waterfront...
In South Korea, apartments are regarded as premium housing types, and their numbers continue to rise despite stagnant population growth and a housing supply rate exceeding 100%. Reconstruction projects for aging apartments often involve increasing the number of units to cover construction costs, leading to efforts to maximize floor area ratios (FAR). While higher building density can enhance...
Planning education faces a persistent challenge: equipping planners with the knowledge and skills to navigate an increasingly uncertain and complex world. The discipline's boundaries remain fluid (Myers and Banerjee, 2005), and its intellectual foundations are interdisciplinary and ever-evolving (Davoudi, 2009). This complexity makes planning difficult to define, but it also fosters...
Promoting the balanced and equitable allocation of regional medical and health facilities has become a consensus. Especially as a vulnerable group, children 's health problems can not be ignored. Hospitals providing pediatric diagnosis and treatment have become an important place and the last line of defense to ensure children 's health. However, problems such as uneven distribution of...
With socioeconomic development, China's urbanization has transitioned from incremental expansion to a focus on improving quality and efficiency through stock renewal. As one of the most prevalent forms of urban public space, community public spaces have become a critical component of urban construction in this new era. Due to physiological and psychological decline, the behavioral...
Planning cities and communities is a rather complex matter, encompassing different dimensions and aspects (urban, transport, environmental, etc.). The traditional approaches dealt with these aspects in isolation, thus ignoring interdisciplinary effects and interactions. In contrast, recent approaches prioritise integrated solutions that holistically deal with urban space. To that end, there is...
The contribution addresses questions of institutional learning within planning policies, proposing Social Innovation (SI) as a conceptual companion to investigate the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. The term is extensively used and extremely hyped (Vigar et al., 2020). Yet, the project urges to examine the socio and spatial distribution of emerging inequalities and disadvantage...
For thousands of years, coastal areas have been shaped and their resources effectively utilized by humans. Today, coastal areas face demands for industrial, commercial, and recreational use (Kay & Alder, 1999; Akyarlı, 2002). The processes of coastal areas have been shaped by different management approaches over time, with notable periodic differences evident in the coastal management...
Many countries, including Türkiye, are undergoing significant demographic shifts. Türkiye’s elderly population comprising 10.2% of the total population and projections indicate this share will rise to 12.9% by 2030 (TÜİK, 2024). As housing is a key determinant of health, providing adequate and appropriate living environments for the elderly has become more critical than ever. While concerns...
Urban resilience (Cutter et al., 2012; Davoudi, 2012) is a crucial concept in urban planning, but it often merges the distinction between events that trigger crises and the processes of adapting to them. Sudden disruptions and gradual, undesirable changes are frequently addressed in similar ways, which can create ambiguities in planning and response strategies. To overcome this challenge, it...
The concept of 15-minute cities has gained global attention as a sustainable urban planning model aimed at creating cities where residents can access essential services and amenities within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their homes. This model emphasizes accessibility, reducing reliance on cars, and fostering more livable and inclusive urban spaces. This study explores the perceived...
Pension facilities are a vital component of the social public service system, and their equity is a critical issue in environmental justice studies. Prior studies have primarily focused on commercial and profit-oriented comprehensive elderly care facilities, yet there has been less attention paid to environmental exposures during travel to and from pension facilities for the elderly who...
Urban street trees play a crucial role in greening initiatives and provide multiple ecosystem services that contribute to urban sustainability. However, among the various ecosystem services, the aesthetic and utilitarian values of street trees are often overlooked. While native species are generally preferred for their ecological benefits, certain non-native tree species may offer cultural and...
Participatory urban planning has increasingly gained attention as a means to foster more inclusive and democratic decision-making processes. However, assessing its effectiveness remains a challenge due to the interplay between objective process characteristics and subjective civic engagement dimensions. This research aims to develop an integrated framework to evaluate participatory planning...
The application of street experiments is not new, with early examples in Europe dating back to the 1960s. However, their large-scale implementation as a tool for supporting rapid urban transformations is a more recent phenomenon. Various experimental techniques have been employed in public spaces, including urban acupuncture (Lerner, 2006), tactical urbanism (Lydon and Garcia, 2015), and...
With the advancement of child-friendly urban planning initiatives, the quality of Active School Travel Spaces (ASTSs) has an important impact on children’s healthy growth. However, existing research on evaluating the quality of school travel spaces predominantly relies on subjective experience, and a systematic, large-scale quantitative measurement framework hasn't been established. As a...
Global warming, air pollution, and natural resource depletion have all emerged as urgent global environmental challenges in recent years. Transport electrification is a critical step toward energy conservation and emission reduction. However, the central challenge for electrifying transportation remains insufficient and unsuitable configurations of public charging infrastructure. Electric...
The concept of the 15-minute living circle, which aims to provide residents with access to essential services within a 15-minute walk or bike ride, has gained significant traction as a sustainable urban development model. However, ensuring equitable access to transport services within these circles remains a critical challenge. This study leverages explainable machine learning techniques,...
Urbanization is a global trend, with an increasing percentage of the population residing in cities. By 2050, it is estimated that 68% of the global population will live in urban areas, while in Türkiye this proportion is expected to reach 85.3%. The rapid growth of the urban population has put enormous pressure on public services, particularly access to health services. The expansion of urban...
Spatial planning today confronts urban and territorial contexts shaped by interconnected global shocks and risks, collectively described as a "polycrisis" (WEF, 2023). Rapid urbanization, climate change, escalating resource demands, and increasing uncertainty and complexity, affect urban and metropolitan settlements. Urban areas play a critical role in both adaptation and mitigation (IPCC,...
Taking the built environment as the primary consideration in architectural design can promote harmony between the building and its surrounding site and climate. It is essential to assess the wind environment at the initial stage of urban planning and enhance natural outdoor air circulation, which improves pedestrian-level comfort. In an urban setting, while previous research has explored the...
Contemporary urban development is gradually shifting from "incremental expansion" to a high-quality development model characterized by "stock optimization" and "people-centered" approaches. The concept of the "Future Community Living Circle" has garnered widespread attention, focusing on meeting residents' diverse and personalized daily needs and enhancing life satisfaction through the...
The relationship between urban renewal and inefficient land use can be understood as involving various activation measures, such as protection, regulation, reconstruction, redevelopment, and utilization, applied to inefficient land use to varying degrees. In the practice of urban renewal, the urban renewal planning mode that utilizes inefficient land redevelopment as a means already exists....
As a densely populated and functionally complex core area, mega-city rail transit stations and their surrounding areas are particularly vulnerable to sudden disasters, which can easily lead to secondary disasters due to traffic disruption and crowd retention, seriously affecting the economic sustainability of the city and social security. In the event of natural disasters, the safe and rapid...
The construction of vibrant urban spaces is an important component of humanistic urban development, especially for China's first-tier cities in the context of stock renewal. In response to the lack of quantitative evaluation methods for the emotional attachment between people and the built environment in small-scale urban vitality spaces, this study proposes a new method to quantify the...
Promoting public transport can significantly contribute to achieving climate neutrality goals, particularly in Europe, where 25% of CO2 emissions originate from the transport sector (European Parliament, 2023). In order to move towards this direction, many European cities have equipped themselves with innovative public transport systems. These include the ‘modern European tram’ (Heipp &...
In the context of building Grand Canal National Cultural Park, the heritage conservation of the Grand Canal has entered a new stage since its inscription as a World Heritage site. In response to contemporary development needs, The urbanization process of Hangzhou City necessitate further urban renewal and cultural landscape enhancements along the Canal. With the successive promulgation of...
This paper provides a framework for value-driven transformation in residential neighbourhoods of the period 1965-1990 in the Netherlands. Many of these neighbourhoods are facing both massive restructuring programmes due to planned large-scale technical upgrades as part of the regular maintenance cycle of buildings, infrastructure and public (green) spaces, and transformations as part of the...
Cities and urban spaces worldwide and in South Africa are changing rapidly. New challenges confront planners in dealing with these changes in ways that will consider the future well-being of the planet and its people. Cities, precincts and public spaces need to adapt and transform to address the challenges of rapid urbanisation, densification, climate change, social conflict, exclusion, and...
China’s accelerated urbanization and the elevation of Yangtze River Delta integration to a national-level strategy have dramatically spurred development in cross-boundary peripheral areas at both provincial and municipal scales. However, this study finds that these peripheral metropolitan regions face “hollowing out” risks, evidenced by widespread housing vacancies, frequent delays or...
The short-term rental (STR) market has undergone substantial expansion in recent decades. This expansion has been particularly marked in the case of Airbnb, which has led to a proliferation of complexities and challenges, impacting a diverse range of stakeholders, including local residents, the hotel and hospitality industry, operators of STRs, and governmental authorities. While this...
The concept of "overtourism," introduced by Claudio Milano in 2017, is defined as the increasingly unsustainable development of mass tourism practices (Milano, 2017). This phenomenon addresses the unsustainable social, economic, physical, and environmental impacts of tourism activities on destinations, particularly focusing on the perceptions of local communities. The effects of overtourism...
The aging population is a significant challenge for modern society, especially in Europe and Estonia. The elderly percent in Estonia in 2024 is already above 20% of the population, while at the beginning of the 21st century, it was only 15%. Shrinking rural areas is one of the results of the aging population. Local municipalities face significant challenges in fulfilling their duties while...
Cities have many layers, networks, and relations that include different activities while they house diverse groups that constitute the minority or majority of society. Cities also create their own written and unwritten rules while they are formed and reformed from their unique relations and networks. These rules are usually set by the majority and/or the authority, excluding—and even...
Introduction
Tactical urbanism complements urban planning by offering creative solutions to urban challenges. Inspired by this concept, street experiments involve intentional, temporary changes in street use, policy, or form to promote people-centric streets. Although such initiatives have been implemented globally (Zhao et al., 2024), they have faced limited success in Hong Kong. Central...
Urban and territorial regeneration practices thrive in marginal areas, ideal for initiating virtuous experimental processes. These areas, rich in generative potential, inspire innovative approaches to transforming spaces, using methods similar to learning by doing. This potential allows citizens to reconnect with their territory and forge new alliances with other communities.
This paper...
At present, most of the population still live in rural China, and the allocation of health facilities in rural areas is generally weaker than that in urban areas. The influencing factors of healthy life of rural residents still need attention and research. This study investigates the relationship between the daily travel activity chains of rural community residents and their self-assessed...
As urbanisation continues, cities face numerous natural and social risks, such as natural disasters, ecological risks, public health risks and social stability risks. These risks pose a serious threat to the development of cities, and there is an urgent need to establish a complete integrated urban disaster prevention system. The emergence of the concept of resilient cities provides a new...
Urban environments are seldom tailored to the needs of children and young people. Through car-centric development, children’s use of public spaces, opportunities for play, physical activity and social interaction became increasingly limited. This exclusion impacts their physical, socioemotional, and cognitive development. Child-friendly cities, as defined by UNICEF, prioritize children’s...
Challenge-based learning and responsible futuring approaches create empathic and collaborative learning opportunities by engaging students with real-world problem-solving through interdisciplinary, participatory methods. Challenge-based learning promotes experiential, problem-driven learning by engaging participants in real-world challenges. At the same time, responsible futuring ensures that...
Driven mainly by the international decline in walking rates and the recognised health benefits of social and physical activity, research into children's active commuting to and from school has expanded rapidly in recent years. However, the role of parents' backgrounds, socioeconomic conditions, and perceptions of the neighbourhood environment in determining children's active commuting to and...
The planetary crisis, driven by the accelerating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, places coastal areas at the forefront of a global challenge. These transitional spaces between land and sea are home to a significant proportion of the world’s population, rich cultural heritage, and essential ecosystems. Yet, they face escalating pressures from hazards such as sea-level...
New energy vehicles play an important role in alleviating climate problems and promoting sustainable transportation, and their charging piles will become an indispensable infrastructure in future cities. Analyzing the overall equity and local accessibility of the spatial distribution of charging piles is conducive to meeting the needs of residents, emphasizing the spatial heterogeneity of...
Food has emerged as a critical element of urban systems, gaining increasing attention in urban planning discussions from various perspectives. Among the key concepts gaining prominence in this discourse is "food deserts." In the literature, food deserts are commonly defined as areas where access to a variety of healthy foods is significantly limited. In essence, food deserts pertain to the...
With the rapid development of global transportation infrastructure, station areas have become critical nodes in multi-scale transportation networks. However, research on the impact of multi-scale accessibility on functional configuration and development intensity in station areas remains insufficient. This study employs multi-centrality analysis to quantify the positional characteristics of...
In the era of global crises, urban planning is confronted with multiple challenges, including climate change, social inequality, and resource scarcity. Urban rail transit networks, as critical infrastructure, significantly reshape urban spatial agglomeration patterns and morphological characteristics by guiding population flows (Yang et al., 2020). Consequently, they have become a vital lever...
Urban expansion often leads to informal settlements on cities’ peripheries, driven by the pressing need to accommodate rapid population growth (UN-Habitat, 2020; Davis, 2006). These settlements are frequently built incrementally to meet the needs of residents, bypassing conventional top-down urban planning directives. While these low-cost developments typically lack essential infrastructure,...
In the context of global efforts to address climate change, cities, as the core spatial carriers of human activities, bear significant responsibility for emission reductions. Urban carbon emissions account for more than 70% of global emissions, and with the acceleration of urbanization, population density and urban expansion have further driven the growth of carbon emissions (Shi et al.,...
Public spaces have always constituted a fundamental component of urban life, providing a platform for social interaction, cultural expression, and the formation of collective identity. They function as both material and symbolic environments for community activities, serving as sites where individuals construct and share meanings through their experiences. This study focuses on the symbolic...
With the development of urbanization, the increase in the urban resident population and human activities leads to significant changes in the urban spatial structure, resulting in more polycentric cities (Li and Li, 2019). An urban center, a crucial part of the urban structure and polycentric cities, refers to a continuous area with a higher population density or a more advanced level of...
Multimodality is increasingly recognized as a vital component of sustainable urban mobility, offering multiple means of transport to reduce car dependence while enhancing travel resilience against mobility disruptions. It also promotes seamless multimodal options that motivate individuals to diversify their travel behavior. However, most existing measures of multimodality are limited by two...
Pedestrian comfort and mobility are crucial considerations in urban planning, particularly in densely populated megacities like Shanghai, where commercial districts serve as key hubs for pedestrian traffic. While existing research on walkability primarily focuses on broad urban metrics such as land use and pedestrian infrastructure, there is a noticeable gap in understanding how specific...
Climate change adaptation strategies require a spectrum of actions, from incremental adjustments to transformative changes in societal systems. Transformation involves shifting the foundational attributes of these systems, such as value systems, regulations, financial institutions, and technologies (IPCC, 2012, p. 4). However, despite its potential, transformative climate governance faces...
Data-driven Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) hold significant potential for addressing various municipal tasks, including financial planning, the siting of social facilities, and crisis management. It furthermore suggests objective assessment and evaluation of criteria, but this is only achievable when the underlying data is of high quality and free from biases, and when the algorithm...
E-scooter sharing became popular around the mid-2010s, with significant growth and widespread adoption occurring in various cities around the world. As a new form of urban micro-mobility, e-scooter sharing programs made their debut in the United States in 2017 as a type of shared micro-mobility in cities. In the US, 84 million journeys were made on electric scooters and shared bikes in 2018,...
Urban street redesign initiatives are increasingly popular as cities aim to foster environmental sustainability and reduce car reliance by promoting active mobility. However, the acceptance of specific transformations often faces challenges due to public concerns, including NIMBYism and loss aversion regarding existing amenities. This study investigates public preferences for urban street...
The transformation of urban systems in the 21st century has been marked by the fact that cities are increasingly viewed as self-organizing, open systems shaped by dynamic, nonlinear, and adaptive processes. This study explores the evolution of İzmir’regionalization and centralization tendencies from the 1950s to the present, employing a dual-phase methodology that integrates exogenous and...
Traditional settlement landscapes, exemplifying the symbiotic cultural system between humans and nature, have developed distinctive regional spatial forms and organizational structures within historical environments. Yet, the preservation of China's traditional settlements faces significant threats from industrialization, urbanization, and globalization, leading to systemic fragmentation,...
Urban transformation addresses the evolving needs of present and future cities while inherently being shaped by elements of the past, particularly urban heritage. The field of “urban heritage” has been traditionally studied from a conservation and restoration perspective, focusing on materiality and the preservation of building fabric. However, this notion was challenged in 2011 by The...
National development strategies in Türkiye and the future vision of the city of Istanbul strive to bring technological development to the planning agenda. Even though literature support that 'technological development is the determinant of economic growth' (Romer, 1990), vulnerability of households to this development is much larger, and they are rapidly forced to dematerialize and demobilize...
Globally, stream daylighting is recognized as a prominent urban planning strategy to enhance resilience in the face of climate change. In Ankara, Türkiye, historical urbanization and water management practices have led to the burial of natural streams, leading to significant challenges such as increased flooding exacerbated by climate change, pollution, and ecological degradation. Despite the...
The community life circle is a key unit in urban built-up areas and serves as the daily spatial domain through which individuals interact with the city. It supports diverse human activities and, as an urban design concept, emphasizes density, mixed-use, and pedestrian accessibility, becoming increasingly popular for its sustainability and livability benefits. In high-density cities, community...
Under the dual challenges of climate change and urban sustainable development, Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) are one of the modern approaches to address environmental and social challenges. As an innovative strategy for urban sustainability, NbS has garnered widespread international attention (Nugent et al., 2015), and many countries have actively promoted its broad application. The Urban...
The relationship between improving environmental conditions and the displacement of residents has long been a subject of urbanism and spatial studies. However, this ongoing debate has recently gained renewed attention, particularly in the context of greening interventions in urban spaces. These interventions have led to the emergence of a new concept in the literature: “green gentrification”....
This study investigates the interplay between emotional connections and urban spatial transformations in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, focusing on the music ecosystem as a critical lens. While traditional spatial research often marginalizes emotional dynamics, this research emphasizes how emotions serve as integral components in understanding urban atmospheres and spatial practices....
European cities are reacting to the climate crisis. Climate planning has exponentially increased in recent years, but a gap remains between planning and implementing climate actions. While many cities and regions have outlined ambitious strategies, far fewer have turned these plans into tangible results. There is a need to act faster to keep global warming within 2ºC, addressing mitigation and...
Amidst an ageing population and declining birth rates, China saw a decrease of approximately 5.35 million preschoolers over the past year, according to 2023 statistics. This decline has led many kindergartens in various regions to consider functional adjustments due to low enrolment numbers. At the same time, the demand for elderly care institutions continues to grow against the backdrop of...
Cities are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, necessitating innovative approaches to mitigate environmental hazards and enhance resilience (IPCC, 2014). Gangnam, a dense and economically vital district in Seoul, South Korea, faces escalating flood risks exacerbated by the combined pressures of climate change and rapid urbanization. Notably, the severe flooding in 2022...
Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, with scientists and experts emphasizing the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, given the already devastating effects caused by global warming to our planet (IPCC, 2023). Food systems are increasingly recognized as major contributors to global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with food production alone...
This research aims to explore appropriate metropolitan management mechanisms through the analysis of Indonesian cases. Indonesia has experienced rapid urbanization over the past few decades. Before the turn of the century, nearly 60% of Indonesia's population still lived in rural areas. However, today, the urban and rural population ratios have completely reversed. By 2023, the urban...
Globalisation and multiculturalism have significant impacts on food culture worldwide. International brands and cooking styles, especially in the fast-food industry, are prevalent even in small cities worldwide. With its diverse climate and local cuisine, Iran always has various cooking styles. Food plays a significant role in the local communities, ethnicity, and everyday life. The...
Heritage cities undergo continuous forms of transformation – resulting from urban growth, destruction, gentrification, mass tourism, etc. Over the last several decades, there has been an increasing insertion of star architecture designed projects within sensitive heritage contexts (Cominelli & Jacquot, 2020). These transnational projects both benefit from the correlation with heritage sites...
The food environment is a critical determinant of residents' nutrition and health. With the changing lifestyles and the rapid development of food delivery services in China, the food environment has expanded beyond traditional in-person dining and home cooking, necessitating a redefinition...
Cities face increasingly urgent challenges related to climate change. Innovative approaches are being implemented to ensure environmental sustainability for future generations. According to the World Health Organisation, a prerequisite for sustainable urban development is health (Neira, 2015). Numerous studies show that urban biodiversity contributes to human health. Aerts et al. (2018)...
The relationship between gastronomy tourism and urban/rural transformations has become a planetary phenomenon, mostly studied within the circles of sustainable tourism (Crespi-Vallbona, et. al., 2017; Gezici, 2006), urban geography (Kowalczyk & Derek, 2020), planning and city branding (Booysen and du Rand, 2019; Deffner, et. al., 2019) particularly at the intersection of deepening...
This paper examines the roles of 'opening' and 'closure' in planning theory, arguing that systemic change aimed at addressing deep-seated inequalities requires both the creation of political space for dialogue and its subsequent consolidation to enable meaningful decisions. Drawing on Laclau and Mouffe’s hegemony theory, the paper proposes a framework that balances these dynamics by fostering...
For many decades, the rate of housing construction in England has consistently failed to meet the growing demand. Despite longstanding policies favouring a 'brownfield first' approach, significant densification in suburban areas remains elusive. Densifying suburbs presents a multifaceted challenge, requiring a balance between increasing housing supply and preserving the local character,...
The rapid advancements in digital technologies and big data analytics have opened new avenues in urban research, enabling the exploration of urban phenomena with unprecedented spatial and temporal precision. In cities like Seoul, mobile phone signal-based data has become a powerful tool for capturing real-time pedestrian dynamics and urban mobility patterns. This type of big data makes it...
In the context of China’s rapid economic growth and industrial restructuring, enterprises in midwestern development zones are under considerable operational pressure. Following the influx of a large migrant population, these zones have witnessed increasingly diverse consumer and recreational demands. Consequently, certain industrial sites have been spontaneously converted by property owners to...
According to the World Tourism Organization (2024), estimated number of international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) during the first nine months of 2024 is 1.1 billion and statistics show us that 2024 will be fully recovered the pre-pandemic period. Although Covid-19 is one of the biggest international crises in recent years, the number of travelers has increased rapidly. Therefore,...
Until now, tourism statistics data have been limited to metrics such as the number of visitors to attractions, international tourist card sales, and the number of inbound and outbound tourists. However, recently, the advent of Origin-Destination (O/D) data in the South Korean Capital Region for tourism-related population movements have begun to be provided, it has become possible to analyze...
A significant challenge for advancing a post-growth society is transitioning from theoretical visions to actionable frameworks that prioritise wellbeing for both people and the planet while actively challenging entrenched growth paradigms. Current efforts are often criticised as insufficient to address the urgency of climate change and the widening social inequalities within and between urban...
Since the early 2000s, a new paradigm has emerged focused on the creation of eco-cities (Nguyen & Vu, 2023), positioning them as one of the three models of the future city alongside the smart city and the knowledge-based city (Ingallina, 2019). As an umbrella concept encompassing various types of cities—such as sustainable cities, green cities, and others (Jabareen, 2006)—the development of...
This study evaluates walking accessibility to urban amenities in cities from five distinct countries: Lisbon, Vienna, Münster, Groningen, Ankara (Keçiören and Çankaya). Focusing on both general residents and the elderly population, the research assesses the spatial distribution of essential services such as healthcare, education, retail, financial services, leisure, and sport facilities within...
When it comes to the future of cities, it seems that much is currently shaped by an absolute imperative to act. The future seems to be everywhere, and, fundamentally, at stake (Wallace-Wells 2019). We understand urban future-making to mean purposeful decisions and actions that impact the urban built environment with the aim of engendering transformative change. The urgency to take far-reaching...
Spatial policies are increasingly concerned with both expanding the supply of residential units due to growing housing shortages in addition to preventing urban sprawl by limiting the use of undeveloped land. Urban densification offers a solution here by repurposing and revitalising underused land and property in urban areas through a sustainable intensification. While there has been much...
Promoting gender equality and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy are two pivotal components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations. Specifically, SDG7 calls for reducing dependence on biomass materials (carbon-based fuel like wood, leaves, straw, cow dung, coal, etc.) as the main source of cooking fuel. Energy poverty is considered...
Land financialisation and real estate investment are vital in shaping China’s rapid urbanisation. While extensive research has focused on urban property speculation and land finance in China, less attention has been paid to how these processes penetrate rural areas and blur urban-rural boundaries under state-driven governance. This study addresses this gap by analysing how China has used the...
Over the past decades, large-scale urban construction has conflicted with collective memory, causing the decline of urban collective memory, especially in China. This trend of decline is manifested in the hollowing out of historic communities, mono-functionality, and spatial homogenization after regeneration (Chu, Xie and Chang, 2019). However, current perspectives dealing with these problems...
The contemporary debate on urban policy governance places increasing emphasis on the ability of public authorities to balance market pressures with environmental and social goals, such as land value capture mechanisms, urban regeneration, green urbanism, and collaborative land governance models. However, conventional planning tools frequently prove inadequate when confronted with challenges...
This research investigates the potential of flexible and inclusive urban design to enhance liveability and climate resilience in underserved urban environments, focusing on the case of Ramos Pool, Rio de Janeiro. Informal public spaces in areas with limited governance frequently face challenges of overdesign and neglect of socio-cultural contexts, leaving their adaptive potential untapped....
In China's long-term planning practice, the mainstream development concept has been growth-oriented, which has led to the neglect of shrinkage phenomena. However, with the intensification of China’s low fertility and ageing trends, the population has entered an overall negative growth phase. Many metropolitan areas of China are already experiencing various degrees and types of shrinkage. For...
Extreme phenomena caused by climate change have led to an increasing intensity and frequency of precipitation events, gradually becoming normalized. In light of these rising flood risk challenges, most urban area engineering structures remain the prevailing flood risk management strategies to reduce the impact of flooding. However, the short-term effectiveness of these structural measures in...
Flood detention areas (FDAs) in China, as unique geographical spatial units, serve the dual purpose of flood control and livelihood protection. These FDAs typically exhibit lower levels of socioeconomic development compared to their surrounding regions. In the context of escalating climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, the utilization of FDAs has become...
In the current situation of severe climate stress, anthropogenic pressures on the planet have resulted in the profound fragility of the natural environment. The effects on territories are striking and have led to the reduction or loss of habitable and cultivable land (IPCC, 2019), meaning that resources may soon be insufficient for all. According to the FAO, by 2050, the world will need to...
Wheat is a crucial agricultural product of the Nile River Delta, yet Egypt remains one of the world's largest wheat importers. In response to recent geopolitical and health crises, Egyptian authorities have prioritized increasing domestic wheat production to enhance self-sufficiency. However, this effort coincides with rapid urban expansion, which threatens arable land in the Nile Delta. To...
Mediterranean wetlands are extraordinary and complex ecosystems that perform a multitude of functions and provide numerous ecosystem benefits and services, as well as being important carbon sinks. At the same time, they are man-made spaces that promote recreation and leisure, regulate flooding and erosion, purify water and provide valuable water and food resources for local human and non-human...
The successive crises of recent years have shaped an environment of uncertainty that tends to constitute a new permanent reality. At the same time, the radical changes that Artificial Intelligence will bring to the entire social process will create a highly competitive economic field. In this new situation, Greek Regions are called upon to transform the methods of developmental policy and to...
Environmental assessments (EAs) serve as key instruments for evaluating the socio-environmental impacts of large-scale infrastructure projects (Hanna and Arnold, 2022). They are essential for the implementation of energy and mobility projects as part of a sustainability transformation. Public participation is a crucial component of EAs, offering opportunities for stakeholders to engage, shape...
The growing recognition of the value of nature in addressing current environmental challenges calls for widespread consideration in spatial planning and decision-making processes. Of the many ecosystem services (ES) that nature can provide, some can directly influence the reduction of extreme events severity and, therefore, help adaptation to the impacts of climate change, particularly in...
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, a significant number of South Korean immigrants and enterprises have moved to Qingdao, forming an economic and community network marked by distinct South Korean cultural characteristics. This phenomenon has resulted in a "parallel adaptation" model, which, while maintaining ethnic cultural boundaries, has hindered...
Climate change is significantly increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events, posing severe risks to health. According to the Lancet Countdown (2023), heat-related deaths among the elderly have risen by approximately 85% in recent years. Additionally, a recent study published in Nature estimates that, without effective mitigation, extreme temperatures could result in an...
This paper examines the Faircloth-to-RAD conversion process as an example of creative reinterpretation and repositioning of existing public policy within the national bureaucracy to create an emerging path for US public housing authorities to expand the supply of federally assisted, deeply affordable housing. Specifically, it will delve into the origins and structure of the program and discuss...
With the constant dependence on groundwater and diminishing recharge capacity, along with untreated sewage and garbage dumping onto the water bodies, India is likely to be the most severely affected by water scarcity by 2050. As the most populous country with unique climate risk challenges, urban India has significantly stressed water resources. To address this, India recently completed its...
This paper focuses on framing healthcare accessibility using a system dynamics (SD) approach. The widely discussed concept of healthcare accessibility can be broadly defined as the realized utilization of healthcare services with the goal of fully meeting patients' healthcare needs. However, patients' healthcare needs are evolving significantly due to, among others, recent demographic and...
The current discourse around mobility transition sits on a spectrum that stretches between decarbonization objectives and inclusionary agendas. As a result, scholarship has argued for a just and equitable transition towards low-carbon modes (Martens, 2017; Sheller, 2018; Schwanen, 2021). In this transition narrative, micromobility is promoted as a sustainable means of transport for short...
The Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) initiative is a multi-fund, place-based, and citizen-centred policy launched by the European Commission in the 2014–2020 community programming cycle. As an evolution of the LEADER programme which started in the 1990s exclusively for rural areas and expanded to coastal settings in 2007, the CLLD policy encompassed urban areas in its scope for the first...
Bayramoğlu, historically known as Philokrene and dating back to the 14th century, stands out as one of Istanbul’s coastal settlements. After the 1970s, it was reshaped as a holiday area extending beyond the city limits in response to Istanbul’s expanding urbanization dynamics. Located on the Bayramoğlu peninsula, the Öbitaş Coastal Site was designed as an alternative holiday settlement to...
Heritage serves as a pivotal medium in constructing collective memory and identity of nations and social groups (Meskell, 2005). Post-colonial heritage, with its inherently negative historical attributes, frequently becomes a contested site in heritage politics. As a prominent example of post-colonial heritage, the legacy of concessions in China occupies the core of many urban areas....
Over the past decades, rural areas have experienced significant transformations driven by changing consumption patterns and lifestyles. These shifts have led to new urbanization forms, rendering the traditional urban-rural distinction less relevant. Among other dynamics, scholars in geography and urban studies pointed out the evolution of peri-urban spaces as "operational landscapes" (Brenner...
The appearance of the notion of sustainable development in the 1980's and the publication of the Brundtland report constituted an important step in the procedures of urban planning of the late 20th century, especially for deindustrialized cities (Devillers, 2010). Its multifaceted nature, result of the diversity of intellectual filiations that preceded it (humanist, economist, ecologist),...
Shifting away from car dependency has become a major challenge of the 21st century due to concerns about climate change, CO₂ emissions, noise pollution, traffic congestion, and road safety. While there have been efforts to encourage behavior change towards active travel modes such as walking and cycling, progress has been slow. This highlights the need for a clearer understanding of policies...
Amid rapid mobility and increasing vulnerabilities, urban health is a crucial topic that requires further discussion, especially through the lens of inclusivity. Despite comprehensive literature and efforts toward health-promoting frameworks, initiatives and benchmarking, the intersection between urban health and urban design remains understudied, particularly regarding how to design built...
The majority of urban open spaces are designed for motorised vehicles, highlighting the role of the street as a means for maximising car efficiency and space for transportation, stripping it of its social dimension and placing people in the margins of public spaces. Various problems, including high levels of environmental pollution, noise, high energy consumption and inactive lifestyles have...
The relationship between culture and tourism has been increasingly pivotal in shaping urban development and academic discussion within tourism literature (Richards, 2018). The ‘Bilbao Effect’ triggered and amplified a segment of this growing debate specifically focusing on art and tourism (Franklin, 2018) and consolidated a ‘ubiquitous narrative among urban decision makers’ (Ponzini, 2010)....
In the current polycrisis context, resilience has taken a prominent spot as a prime objective on the political agenda. In spatial planning, the concept has also received increased attention in the past two decades as a planning rationale for designing “future-fit” spatial structures and planning procedures. In that regard, the metropolitan region is particularly cited as a promising scale for...
“Regenerativity” has emerged as a response to sustainability challenges and the climate crisis by focusing on restoring ecosystems, enhancing resilience, and creating self-sustaining systems that go beyond reducing harm to actively improving the environment and society. The concept of "regenerativity", though increasingly central to discussions of sustainable development, ecological...
This article links cross-border residential mobility and housing inequalities by analysing the centre–periphery relationship between Luxembourg and its border regions, identifying a potential research gap at the intersection of border studies and housing studies. It addresses the effects of gentrification and advantageous fiscal policies in Luxembourg on the housing market in the French border...
The 1970s saw a significant increase in visitors to historical sites, leading to problems in managing these sites and the development of concepts in tourism and urban literature, such as “tourism carrying capacity” (Kuss and Morgan, 1980), “tolerance model” (Doxey, 1975), and “tourist perspective” (Urry, 1990). The pressures of visitor density and resource management inadequacies have created...
The evolution of social housing in Braga, city located in Portugal, presents a compelling case study of how medium-sized European cities navigate housing challenges amid rapid urban growth and market pressures. This paper results of a collaboration between academics and the municipality and examines the trajectory and current state of social housing in Braga over the past three decades...
This paper explores arising tensions and contradictions in participatory planning against the backdrop of strategic spatial planning and other overlapping nested planning paradigms (Albrechts, 2013). This is significant as the field of planning has shifted from traditional land-use planning to area-based, actor-driven and process-oriented planning (Albrechts, 2013). The aforementioned tensions...
Background:
Modernist urban planning has profoundly shaped urban environments during global urbanization, emphasizing functional zoning, large-scale land parcels, and rapid transit systems. In China, the extensive construction of new towns since the 1990s has been guided by modernist planning principles and executed via regulatory detailed planning. While this approach has facilitated...
This paper examines the transformation of the Modiano Food Arcade in Thessaloniki, Greece, from a historic central food market into a contemporary food mall and exhibitions' space, focusing on the intersecting themes of cultural commodification, urban regeneration, and touristification. Built in the early 20th century, Modiano Market has long been a vital symbol of Thessaloniki’s market...
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, is one of the first smart city models that emerged as an ambitious project, aiming to become the world’s first carbon-neutral and zero-waste city and seamlessly weave technology into managing its urban fabric. Masdar City aspired to become a tech and economic hub that attracts investors and researchers, and it hoped its sustainability-through-tech mission would inspire...
As extreme weather events are becoming more common, the urgency to transform cities worldwide to become more resilient and adaptive is steadily increasing. Both in literature and practice nature-based solutions (NBS) have been identified as a key approach to making cities more adaptive, as they offer multiple co-benefits such as recreation, biodiversity, aesthetic qualities, and health...
Tourism in urban areas, particularly in European destinations, has grown significantly over the years, often surpassing expert predictions. This growth has increased the use of urban spaces where place consumption practices occur, sometimes creating functional challenges that disrupt the balance between local needs and tourist demands, potentially impacting residents' quality of life. Despite...
Post-disaster recovery is a critical juncture for reimagining urban systems to address sustainability, resilience, and climate neutrality. Ukraine, facing extensive wartime destruction, provides a unique opportunity to explore how recovery efforts can act as a catalyst for systemic transformation. This study examines the integration of carbon-neutral goals into urban reconstruction strategies,...
Residential Satisfaction (RS) is a widely studied concept in urban planning, environmental psychology, real estate, and marketing that influences housing quality, neighborhood livability, quality of life evaluations, and consumer preferences. However, a systematic review of 50 studies reveals inconsistencies in how RS and its subcomponent, neighborhood satisfaction (NS), are both defined and...
This study investigates the historic neighbourhoods of Eleftheroupoli, a small-sized town in Northern Greece, aiming to explore how site analysis can unlock regenerative potentials for semi-derelict historic places like this. Eleftheroupoli, a former center of the tobacco industry, has witnessed significant decline in the 1980s, leading to the neglect and abandonment of its once-thriving...
Public space is crucial in contemporary urban planning, fostering sustainable and resilient cities. Current debates increasingly emphasize the importance of pedestrian spaces and the redefinition of street spaces to provide more comfort and usability for people. As cities grapple with the dual challenges of environmental sustainability and enhancing urban livability, pedestrian-friendly public...
The debate on shrinking cities illustrates the idea of growth dependency of urban development. The growth theory rewards places with particular neoliberal economy features. Big metropolitan areas have intensified, while smaller cities lacking those features are left behind, which creates geographic winners and losers. That reality highlights another common outcome from population decline:...
21st century marked the era of widespread adoption of digital technologies in various sectors along with urban landscapes and building technologies. The advent of cutting-edge technological development intervened with the rapid evolution of urban landscapes and built environment. As a result, digitalization as a continuous and dynamic process has been seen as an antidote for the growing...
Canadian cities are consistently characterized as low-density, dispersed and decentralized, largely due to the pervasiveness of car-oriented development and policies that encourage urban sprawl (Bunting et al., 2007; Talmage & Frederick, 2019). This has cemented Canada’s profile as a “suburban nation” (Gordon & Janzen, 2013), which is particularly true in “mid-sized” Canadian cities...
Evaluating urban vitality holds significant positive implications for supporting decision-making in urban regeneration. Optimizing the built environment to adjust the urban functional structure, enhance transportation conditions, and improve the living environment, thereby reshaping urban vitality, is an important objective of urban regeneration. Therefore, clarifying the fundamental...
Historic trunk roads are formative elements of the urban fabric that play central infrastructural and functional roles. As public-owned linear spaces, they hold great transformation potential, especially when considered in conjunction with the adjacent urban fabric - for example with regard to mobility transition and climate change adaptations. Despite urban planning sovereignty in Vienna,...
The UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites represent an invaluable treasure of our planet's history, culture, and nature. These places, marked by their outstanding universal value, house both tangible and intangible testimonies that shape humanity’s identity and collective memory. However, these heritage sites face the challenge of balancing conservation with the sustainable development of...
The rapid urbanisation of the UAE, across the past three decades, is attributed to the significant migration from the South Asian subcontinent. This influx in population served the burgeoning construction industry in development of high-rise structures and landmarks of star-architects. While this growth has shaped the city, it has also given rise to densely populated labour housing districts...
This contribution is conceived within the framework of the PRIN 2022 - COSTA | Med - Catching Opportunities for Strategic Transformation and Adaptation of Mediterranean Coasts*. The overall objective of the research project is to formulate strategies for the transformation and adaptation of Mediterranean coastal territories. Specifically, the Pescara Research Unit investigates the potential...
It is increasingly understood that the impacts of climate change transcend traditional administrative boundaries, necessitating innovative, cross-boundary policy actions (Leck and Simon, 2013). Emerged in the 1990s as a way to reinterpret the evolving interplay between cities and their surrounding regions, the concept of 'functional areas' may be useful in this concern, indicating a shift in...
The concept of the public interest has long been bound up in debates about the purpose of, and justification for, planning activities. Yet, writing at the beginning of the 21st Century, Campbell and Marshall (2000) highlight that:
*“What constitutes the public interest has always been contentious but its value as a legitimising concept has been increasingly called into question in the recent...
The housing crisis in Germany, particularly the shortage of affordable housing in metropolitan areas, poses a significant challenge for middle- and low-income households. However, new buildings alone cannot resolve this issue, especially in the context of the climate crisis. Construction activities and the operation of buildings are among the largest contributors to CO2 emissions in Germany...
The increasing rigidity of legal and regulatory frameworks in spatial planning has hindered the ability to address contemporary challenges, including climate adaptation, demographic shifts, and rapidly changing local needs such as housing shortages or surpluses. Zoning, often criticized for perpetuating outdated models rooted in modernist or neoliberal priorities, has emerged in new forms with...
This paper will present emerging findings from new research, commissioned by the Royal Town Planning Institute (UK), on flexibility and indeterminacy in new town planning around the world. The research has been timed so that its publication coincides with the UK Government’s announcement of locations for a new generation of new towns in England.
New towns are characterised as large,...
In the context of the Pact for the Future, the Paris Agreements, the 2030 Agenda, and the fact that water began trading as a futures commodity on the New York Stock Exchange during the pandemic, numerous concerns arise about how to approach urban issues and inhabitation in a world rapidly transforming technologically. This transformation has reached the point where space tourism is now a...
The rapid industrialization and urbanization in China have transformed rural landscapes into urban areas, giving rise to urban villages. Shenzhen, with over 1,000 urban villages housing approximately 7 million permanent residents and migrants, presents a unique context for studying these transitional spaces. Gangxia, located in the heart of Shenzhen, serves as an exemplary case to explore the...
Globally, natural hazards are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change impacts, with the potential to trigger disasters. Planning plays a crucial role in disaster risk reduction, preparedness and recovery, as it influences locations of uses and building requirements. This role is influenced by wider policy and institutional frameworks for disaster prevention and response....
Street experiments are increasingly adopted as planning measures to help communities visualize “radically different arrangements of the urban mobility system”(Bertolini 2020). These interventions foster active mobility and public life through relatively short-term, low-resource, and small-scale spatial transformations that enable “here and now” changes to streetscapes. Despite their potential,...
The impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and tidal flooding, significantly affect communities. These include changes in livelihoods, migration due to environmental changes, household finances, health, and education. Climate change poses major challenges for communities, particularly women and vulnerable groups. These groups often face barriers and issues related to gender...
This paper explores the integration of gender mainstreaming in urban food policies (UFPs) through
case studies of three Spanish cities: Barcelona, Valencia, and Zaragoza. While UFPs are pivotal for
addressing sustainability in urban food systems, attention to gender disparities within these
frameworks remains insufficient. Using a qualitative comparative analysis of policy documents...
The earthquakes that struck southeastern Turkey on February 6, 2023, caused widespread destruction and displaced hundreds of thousands of people to temporary shelters. This study examines the applicability of the design criteria developed for the UN Women Turkey Gender-Responsive Settlement Model (GRSM).
The research evaluates temporary shelter areas in earthquake-affected cities in...
The transition toward sustainable, climate-resilient urban environments is one of the critical challenges of the 21st century. University campuses, as microcosms of urban systems, present unique opportunities to prototype and evaluate innovative approaches for the green transition. As hubs of education, research, and community engagement, university campuses are ideally positioned to explore...
Global mainstream policies on climate change mitigation and adaptation identify local green transition as a key component for achieving global objectives. The success of adaptation strategies depends on the active and continuous involvement of stakeholders, including national, regional, international organizations, private sectors, and civil society (Howarth et al. 2024). These stakeholders,...
The rapid increase in property transactions and rental prices in Taiwan has created serious challenges for housing equity, especially for college students without access to on-campus housing. Rising rents, combined with a lack of transparency and market information asymmetry, have exacerbated financial burdens and made the rental process increasingly stressful. The factors and spatial patterns...
Carbon trading markets aim to balance greenhouse gas emissions of the countries by channeling climate finance from developed countries to developing ones by helping them mitigate climate change impacts and promote sustainable development. Carbon offsetting was introduced by the Kyoto Protocol, later expanded through market forces and United Nations’ initiatives in a multi-layered structure...
This study explores analytically and critically perspective religion-based intentional communities in contemporary contexts as geographies of voluntary segregation and commitment. These religious communal settings intentionally formed by individuals seeking to freely and collectively practice their religion. They purposefully create self-segrageted closed entities where religious practices and...
This paper takes up the theme of empty plots that exist within the urban fabric. In reference to “ghost signs” – advertising and other signs that have been preserved for an extended period of time because of their nostalgic appeal or as result of lack of interest – we coin the term “ghost plots”. Internationally, the phenomena is common, ranging from examples of post-war Amsterdam, where...
This paper explores governance frameworks and transferable policy innovations within the European bioeconomy planning context, drawing insights from Germany, France, and Belgium to address planning challenges for developing the bioeconomy in counties with slow development such as Ireland. It situates the bioeconomy as a transformative regional planning concept requiring multi-level governance,...
In cities where green and open spaces are scarce, these areas serve multifunctional roles. Through effective governance, they provide benefits such as water management, improved public health, and support for sustainable transport, making them essential components of green infrastructure (Addo-Bankas et al., 2024; Ellicott, 2016). Local governments play a key role in managing these spaces,...
Participation in decision-making processes is a longstanding issue in both research and practice. It is widely claimed that planning can become socially equitable and more democratic by incorporating stakeholders’ perspectives and altering the power dynamics within urban governance. However, further research is necessary to assess the degree of influence that participation grants to...
This paper examines governance structures and institutional learning in urban transformation processes for climate change adaptation, focusing on Bologna’s experience within the European Urban Initiative. This program has funded 22 innovative projects across European cities, and Bologna’s TALEA is currently in the early stages of its journey, laying the foundation for future physical and...
The development of inter-regional megaprojects presents a complex governance challenge, particularly when such projects intersect with diverse political and institutional landscapes at the local level. This research examines the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) as a case study to explore how governance dynamics shape infrastructure-led development. As part of Indonesia’s National...
In recent decades, an increasing number of cities worldwide have incorporated tactical urbanism into their urban planning strategies challenging traditional governance schemes and well-established planning approaches.
Some local administrations have developed structured tactical urban planning programs, defining criteria and priorities for implementing tactical experiments through a...
The informal economy, comprising a wide range of unregulated economic activities, provides jobs for almost two billion of the world’s workers today. In developing nations, such as India, this share is around 90%. As the informal economy dominates the world’s employment and the nature of urbanization, it also creates challenges, especially
in developing countries, to comprehend and control...
This paper articulates a reflection on the intersection between socio-economic inequalities, spatial segregation, and environmental justice in cities focusing on green inequalities and public space. Urban green plays a dual role: providing essential ecosystem services and mitigating climate risks, while also serving as a key component of public space. Green deprivation can therefore impoverish...
Rural landscapes are in transition worldwide driven by intersecting processes including climate change, structural changes in agriculture (concentration, specialization, intensification/extensification), urbanization in various forms, and decline in biodiversity (Pinto-Correia et al. 2018). Also, public policies and planning are changing at all levels and sectors (including both market...
The post-foundational line of thought and the post-political critique that has come out of it provides the field of planning theory with a critical energy that it has long been in need of. In the framework of this critique, first the Habermasian communicative rationality is denounced for denigrating and rejecting of any manifestation of disagreement in the society in the name of democracy. The...
This paper examines how prefabricated housing units with temporary planning permits are reshaping property relations in urban development. While residential property development has traditionally been characterized by permanent structures and fixed property rights, the emergence of prefabricated housing units operating under temporary permits creates new models of ownership, access, and...
This research aims to explore the integration of smart city technologies within real estate development by integrating cutting-edge innovations such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and geographic information systems (GIS).Building on the insights from two pivotal papers (Al-Rimawi and Nadler, 2025) and (Al-Rimawi and Nadler, 2023), this research offers a novel...
Urban Vegetable Gardens (UVGs) have become an emerging urban landscape infilling the interstitial space of urban areas. Such informal self-motivated agricultural activities occupying vacant lands are primarily driven by elderly migrants. In the context of the Chinese ageing society, the expansion of UVGs shows a new pattern of fulfilling both the physical and mental needs of the elderly,...
Urban spaces play a crucial role in shaping social behaviors and the quality of life of residents. In this context, urban structures also influence public health outcomes. The quality of green spaces, accessibility to recreational infrastructure, and pedestrian-friendly urban design significantly impact residents' health. However, the implementation of these elements varies across cities....
Heavy rainfall and resulting floods pose an imminent threat to critical infrastructure (CI) (Fekete, 2021). Roads are especially vulnerable, as they might become impassable for cars and emergency vehicles, leading to cascading effects that endanger the function of other critical services (Groenemeijer et al., 2015). Road disruptions present a major challenge for emergency medical service (EMS)...
The study intends to investigate the landscape of the mid-Adriatic coastline in the coastal stretch between Pineto and Vasto, interpreting the heritage processes associated with the ongoing transformation dynamics.
In detail, the focus is on new forms of sustainable development, aimed at protecting and enhancing the built, natural and intangible heritage. In this research, heritage is...
In recent years, China's deindustrialisation and reliance on land-based fiscal policies have posed significant challenges to the industrial transformation and urban regeneration of traditional industrial zones. Redeveloping abandoned industrial sites, such as through industrial tourism and creative office spaces, has become a priority for many renewal projects. To achieve both economic and...
In recent years, cultural heritage has become a favored resource in real-estate dynamics, particularly in historic cities. Privatization, deeply rooted in processes of financialization of urban policy, has indeed exploited the real-estate value embedded in such assets, not infrequently leading to speculative mechanisms, as well as social exclusion. The interaction of public and private actors...
Energy resilience is crucial for mitigating the effects of climate change, urbanization, and natural disasters, as well as ensuring the continuity of urban life. A resilient energy system demonstrates the capacity to recover rapidly from shocks and stresses, thereby minimising downtime and mitigating the socio-economic impacts of disruptions. As urban populations expand, ensuring reliable and...
Although the direct role of the public sector in housing provision in Croatia has decreased significantly since the end of the socialist system, much like in other post-socialist countries, public policies continue to influence housing provision, often through indirect mechanisms, working within broader post-socialist welfare regimes. Permissive land use and development policies in Croatia may...
This proposal aims to provide a specific answer to the question posed in Track 8: Is it possible for the planning practices and pedagogies derived from developed geographies to become responsive to the planning experiences of the entire world?
This methodological and empirical contribution is based on feedback from an international cooperation workshop in urban planning that has been...
Housing is a fundamental human right, essential to the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. However, the global housing crisis, driven by rapid urbanization, the decline of public housing, and the financialization of housing, has transformed housing from a social need into a commodity. With over 1.6 billion people worldwide lacking adequate housing—a figure projected to rise...
This paper explores the intersection of migration trajectories with development induced displacement in globalizing cities, where intensifying circulations of people and capital collide to make inhabitation increasingly unsettled (Simone 2019; Landau; 2022). Specifically, I explore dynamics of affordable shelter provision by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork (2018-19, 2021-22) in Fikirtepe, ...
After the COVID19 pandemic, the cost of rents and mortgages have risen and the relation of these expenditures to income ratio has worsened, reducing the ability of households to reach adequate housing. The region shared by Mexico, United States and Canada are no exception, about one-third of low-income population in North America is burdened by housing costs, and this trend spread across its...
Housing, and more specifically providing affordable housing, is now a hot political topic with the European Union now having appointed the first ever Commissioner for Energy and Housing. The drivers of this contemporary housing crisis are manifold, and differ across Europe. In this paper, we will present key results of the ESPON House4All European Research project running from July 2023-July...
Housing renewal, which aims to improve the existing housing stock’s structural quality, is largely associated with earthquake risk and the expectation of economic benefits, in Turkey. With the effect of the legal regulation made in 2012 that encourages housing renewal in order to produce earthquake-resistant building stock (Angell, 2014), there has been a significant increase in the number of...
In Norway, there are currently more than 130 operational culture houses, so-called ‘kulturhus’. Historically, these have served a range of purposes, providing important infrastructure for cultural activities and other community services. The early 2000s marked a proliferation in the demand to plan and construct new culture houses across the country, fueled by a conviction that tailor-made...
As Canadian cities respond to the growing challenges of post-pandemic economic adjustments and a housing affordability crisis, regeneration of vacant downtowns through adaptive reuse provides an opportunity to maximize economic and social benefits (Mohamed et al, 2017). Through the planning and design of adaptive reuse projects, planners have the opportunity to make a significant difference to...
Today, over 370 million internal migrants cross jurisdictions and live in unauthorized rental housing communities. The housing struggles of migrants challenge China’s urban governance structure (Hsing 2010; Zhang 2002). As the governing strategies of the household registration system have proved inadequate, China has launched an initiative to reconfigure the largely informal rental housing...
The rapid growth and increasing complexity of European cities underscore the critical need for spatial planning to ensure sustainable urban environments. Within spatial planning, local land-use planning is translating strategic goals into legally binding regulations. Making up a big part of land ownership and development law, local-level regulations directly shape cities by controlling their...
While the cities have rapidly advanced technologically over the years, the fact remains that rural areas still remains in a digital divide. Throughout the recent years more and more attention has been paid to develop the digital skills of older populations living in rural areas who tend to be excluded from the success of e-governance and new digital services. Recent discussion has been...
Cities today face shortages of urban construction space and a lack of funding for large projects, necessitating alternatives to traditional urban regeneration models. Recently, temporary urban regeneration explorations, such as pop-up markets, have become more prevalent in major Chinese cities and may be able to solve the problem. They leverage point-to-point connections in the virtual world...
Introduction
Street experiments are intentional and temporary changes of street regulations or forms, aimed at instigating people-centric street transitions. During the Covid-19 pandemic, over 300 cities worldwide implemented such interventions — mainly sidewalk expansions, kerb space reallocations, and street closures — to support active mobility and outdoor activities. While these...
Street vitality is considered a critical indicator for assessing the attractiveness and potential of urban areas, especially in the context of sustainable development. First, street vitality is one of the essential components that shape urban vitality. While street vitality research has primarily focused on macro-level features, such as commercial density, accessibility, and pedestrian volume,...
Currently, 40% of the population in Europe already lives in a shrinking region, where shrinking means population decline and/or aging. This especially impacts rural regions, where natural decline and continued urbanization accelerate even more shrinking in these areas. Complex policy challenges arise from this development (ESPON 2020), such as labor market shortages, fiscal sustainability,...
In the digital age, it is crucial to reflect on the role and relevance of urban structuring and decision-support methods.
The overall aim of SUITE research (Decision support in an urban context in the digital age: interactions and uncertainties) is to explore this issue, through a main research question: is the concept of Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs)(Rosenhead and Mingers, 2001; Shaw...
Equity and inclusiveness are two of the main goals of sustainable urban development, which help achieving resilient cities. The elements of urban green infrastructure, comprising green spaces and nature—based solutions, represent an important tool for creating sustainable and resilient cities. The inclusion of equity aspects related to urban green infrastructure in strategic urban planning...
A diverse housing supply is widely recognized as a crucial mechanism for mitigating socioeconomic segregation by allowing different income groups to coexist within the same urban fabric. However, most existing research has focused on cities where housing typologies are spatially clustered, reinforcing patterns of residential segregation (Glaeser and Gyourko 2018, Tiebout 1956). Less attention...
Spatial planning scholars have long emphasized the need for future-oriented and strategic thinking in planning practice (e.g. Couclelis, 2005). Spatial planning requires a future-oriented approach now more than ever, given the growing challenges of climate change and the transformations needed across multiple sectors to achieve sustainability goals. In this paper, I examine how imaginative...
Since the turn of the millennium, “civic engagement” has been incorporated into the concept of innovation districts as a panacea for urban development problems, and the role of community in promoting the quality of place in innovation districts has been increasingly emphasized as a natural consequence of the tendency of national governmental institutions to decentralize responsibilities to...
Despite its profound implications for sustainability and public health, food planning emerged as a distinct area of focus only in the early 2000s (Pothukuchi and Kaufman, 2000). Existing studies predominantly address the spatial perspective of foodscapes such as retail outlets (e.g., supermarkets, restaurants, and fast food) and their health implications (Mejean and Recchia, 2022). However,...
Urban green spaces (UGS) enhance resident well-being, yet effective planning requires understanding the complex, often nonlinear relationships that shape park use, as subtle changes in perceived environments can significantly impact engagement. However, most research relies on linear models, constraining the exploration of these nuanced interactions, and primarily focuses on park-specific or...
Providing opportunities for rich and meaningful interactions with physical and social environment is crucial for supporting the physical, psychological and social well-being of people of all ages, and particularly the vulnerable populations, such as older adults. Associated declines in sensory and cognitive capacities that occur as people age affect profoundly older adults’ quality of life and...
Urban planning can affect respiratory health. Due to industrial and mining pollution, unique spatial structure, etc., the built environment factors of coal resource-based cities have special impact paths on respiratory health. Lung cancer is one of the cancers with the highest incidence and mortality rates worldwide. Qujing, located in the eastern part of Yunnan Province, China, is dominated...
Indonesia's Jabodetabek, a major metropolitan area that contains five cities (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi), boasts an extensive and densely utilized rail public transportation system. The Commuter Line, commonly referred to as KRL (an acronym for "Kereta Rel Listrik", meaning electric train), connects at least five cities across three provinces on Java Island. The route from...
In recent years, dockless bike-sharing (DBS) have become an important ways of transportation in many cities and have shown outstanding performance in terms of environmental friendliness and short distance travel. Compared to docked bike-sharing that require specific docks to be used, DBS can be rented and returned almost anywhere, making them more flexible and convenient. They flexibility also...
In the contemporary era, rapid demographic growth, widespread urbanization in vulnerable areas, and the escalating impacts of climate change have heightened the exposure of cities to natural disasters. Among the various forces of nature, water emerges as a pivotal factor in these catastrophes, manifesting both as scarcity and overabundance. Prolonged droughts and wildfires are direct...
As cities around the world continue to transform through rapid urbanization, the need for public spaces that prioritize human needs and foster community engagement has become more urgent than ever. Public spaces are no longer just physical locations but are now vital to the social fabric of urban life, shaping how individuals connect, interact, and contribute to the collective urban...
Cities worldwide are changing, and so are the public spaces within them. At a point in history where the future is uncertain, and images of war, violence and conflict flash on various screens, many urban residents are hesitant to engage in public life and space. Growing polarisation, inequality and environmental threats drive people to hide behind barriers, feeling increasingly threatened and...
In the last years, hybridization (or hybridity) has gained a great momentum in our cities and urban regions. However, hybridization is not a recent phenomenon, and it has been discussed since the 1980s. For example, planning and architecture have seen hybridization as a mixture of spatio-functional features (such as mixed use, multi-functionality and flexibility) and social features (such as...
The paper aims at exploring how models of urban justice, which in the Twentieth century have been essentially based on the equal distribution in space of services and accessibility opportunities, can be imagined and redesigned in an era, in which inhabited spaces tend increasingly to be a complex mix between spaces in the digital and in the physical spheres, hybrid spaces or hybridscapes....
This study investigates the interrelationships among socio-ecological resilience, identity construction, and hydraulic heritage, as well as their multifaceted impacts on local communities.
Using the Huaibei region in China as a case study, the research examines the historical consequences of the Yellow River’s artificial diversion into the Huai River during the Song Dynasty. This large-scale...
(1)Background: In the context of global entry into the post-growth era, climate change and resource constraints pose unprecedented challenges, necessitating a reevaluation of conventional growth-driven development. The rapid industrial suburbanization in metropolises has led to the expansion of residential, employment and public service functions, with Shanghai being a typical case....
Assessing and mapping Ecosystem Services (ESs), i.e., the material and non-material benefits provided by ecosystems to humans, is essential for quantifying the impacts of land uses and their changes, understanding the spatial mismatch between demand and supply of ESs, identifying priority areas for conservation, and evaluating the success of conservation strategies. Spatially targeting ES...
Geographically, Makassar is quite located on the southwest coast of South Sulawesi Province which is an area that has a high potential for natural disasters because it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire (prone to earthquakes and tsunamis), at coordinates between 119° 18' 27 , 97” to 119° 32´31.03” east longitude and 5° 30´18” to 5° 14' 49” south latitude. In general, there are three types...
Urban regeneration is crucial for fostering revitalization and sustainable development in cities. Accurate identification of regeneration areas in urban residential districts is essential for implementing effective regeneration strategies. However, existing studies struggle with the automatic large-scale spatial classification of regeneration areas due to their inherent complexity. Moreover,...
The rapid development of mobile Internet has made it more common for tourists to actively share their travel experience and itineraries on social media platforms, influencing the offline travel destination choices of other tourists with similar travel intention. This has had a huge impact on the traditional tourism routes, which were once centred around travel agency-recommended attractions....
Low-rise, low-density housing dominates Ireland’s housing sector, even as growing housing demand and ambitious carbon reduction targets necessitate a shift toward sustainable development. Compact urban growth (CUG) has emerged as a critical strategy to address these challenges, offering transformative environmental, social, and economic benefits. Promoted in key policies such as the National...
Man-made climate change is leading to an increase in average air temperatures. This has a particular impact on densely populated and sealed urban areas by intensifying the urban heat island effect. An important instrument for adapting the associated temperature changes is the development, preservation and establishment of green spaces in urban areas. The creation of a green space mapping...
Sustainability strategies in the mobility sector are often concentrated on large metropolitan hubs or on main transport corridors. On the one hand, in fact, cities have been a field of experimentation for a mobility model alternative to the car-centric one. On the other, resources and institutional efforts have been concentrated to create and strengthen direct connections between them,...
Molotch's Access Node Theory, proposed in 1976, states that a limited number of transit nodes contributes to rapid urbanization instead of alleviating vehicular congestion. Through an analysis of post-processed satellite images from the year 2000, where no transit node yet is servicing the esteemed university belt district in Manila, which hosts over twenty institutions for higher education,...
Planning theory has always been influenced by thinkers outside the discipline, such as Jürgen Habermas, Chantal Mouffe, and Michel Foucault. ‘Planning as transformative action', as the conference title suggests, can be understood as a reference to the work of political theorist Hannah Arendt, which has received little attention in planning theory. Her critical thinking, shaped by the collapse...
Throughout Europe, much of urban development has been guided by a planning culture dependent on the automobile regime and centered on efficiency (Urry, 2004; Mattioli et al., 2020). Car dependent planning has contributed to creating a lock-in; which functions as a barrier to sustainable alternatives (Seto et al., 2016). A more transformative mindset could provide possible pathways to unlock...
As we globally experience a daily hyper-acceleration of multiple crises and with 2024 being the first recorded year of the Earth's average temperature crossing the 1,5 °C boundary set by the Paris Agreement, the inadequacy of such global strategies has been unequivocally recognized. In the face of this stagnant situation, the change of the capitalist system is increasingly recognized as the...
It is known that cultural heritage sites are affected by the impacts of climate change (CC) in physical (e.g. sea-level rise, coastal erosion, or increase in temperature (Simpson et al., 2022)), social (e.g. migration or demographic shifts (UNESCO, 2007)), cultural (e.g. cultural erosion (UNESCO, 2007)), environmental (i.e. biodiversity loss (Lafrenz Samuels, 2017) or deforestation (IPCC,...
The metropolises of many nations are experiencing constant splintering of their districts. This splintering brings along housing and cultural diversity as well as distribution of density across the urban landscape of cities. In most North American countries, it has been identified that these outcomes are triggered by two major forms of segregation as it is manifested on the ground: natural...
The rapid urbanization process has led to greater thermal stress on pedestrians, and greenery arrangement can provide an effective mitigation strategy. However, the impact of vegetation on microclimate and building heat load (BHL) has primarily been explored in street canyon scenarios, with limited research at the residential scale. Furthermore, traditional methods for assessing the...
In the past decades, the condensation of urban networks of metro and rail lines is reshaping the spatial configuration of cities and transforming travel patterns, thereby influencing urban development patterns and intensities. (Desjardins et al., 2014)With continuous urban growth, the densification of metro and rail networks have given rise to multi-station aggregate hubs formed by...
Urban green spaces play a critical role in enhancing public health and well-being. While the relationship between green spaces and individual health status has been extensively studied, limited attention has been given to the structural pathways through which green spaces influence health, particularly the mediating role of social capital. This study addresses this gap by examining the...
Carbon Emission Intensity (CEI) has become a critical constraint indicator for China's national economic and social development. The Urban Spatial Layout Changes (USLC) resulting from urbanization can significantly influence CEI. This paper constructs a comprehensive model to examine the relationship between USLC and CEI in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration and proposes...
In recent years, Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) have garnered significant attention for their potential to advance sustainable agricultural, social, and environmental practices. Against the backdrop of a centralised and industrial food governance regime characterised by concentrated economic and political power, AFNs offer a critical and practical response. AFNs are community-based...
Urban greening has emerged as a priority for Latin American cities in recent decades, serving as a strategy to foster more sustainable and resilient urban environments while mitigating environmental injustices (Breen et al., 2020). Local administrations have devoted substantial economic and political resources to implementing new green infrastructure projects. However, these efforts often...
Achieving sustainable urban development is a critical pathway for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Klopp and Petretta, 2017), and the implementation of effective and sustainable policies is essential to achieving this objective (Lowe et al., 2022). In this context, China has launched a series of the Urban Green Action (UGA) plans, such as the Eco-Garden City, the National...
Urban shrinkage, characterized by sustained population decline and often accompanied by economic downturn, spatial decay, and reduced quality of life, represents both a warning signal of urban decline and a critical juncture for strategic intervention. While Western post-industrialized nations have developed planning paradigms like "smart shrinkage" - advocating spatial intensification and...
Torresmo is a community, in the eastern periphery of São Paulo, Itaim Paulista, inhabiting an informal settlement divided by a stream whose recent channelization increased the incidence of flooding.
The hydraulic safeness of the Brazilian megalopolis is planned by the Secretary of Infrastructures (SIURB) through numerical modeling -of the presence of water and its drainage- and design,...
This paper proposes and discusses a novel concept of vulnerability and its implications for transformative urban policies and practices. As well known, vulnerability has gained a prominent role in several discourses concerning urban social and environmental justice. Within these discourses, vulnerability has become a sort of mental image which is used to represent conditions of exposure of...
The rapid pace of urbanization in China has highlighted significant challenges in aging residential communities, including outdated infrastructure, insufficient spatial functionality, and a lack of inclusivity for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and children. These issues hinder the quality of life and community vitality. This research examines these challenges...
As urbanization in China transitions from quantitative expansion to qualitative improvement, understanding the dynamics of residents’ time use has become critical for addressing diverse and evolving needs. Time, as a finite resource, serves as a crucial indicator of quality of life and lifestyle patterns, offering insights into individual and household behaviors across different family life...
Most major cities around the world boast a long history of urban development, attracting people at home and abroad with their abundant opportunities. However, the urban environment is increasingly failing to meet the diverse and modern needs of its inhabitants. Constrained by the limits of resource and environmental capacity, the quality of life is gradually deteriorating, manifesting in...
The conjunctures of technological development, persistent wars, and economic commutation is increasingly outpacing the circulation of humanistic care and various social deconstructions, driving me to the position of post-colonialism and making up a notion that the discipline of urban planning needs to be honest with itself. How far can civic rights and spatial justice be achieved in cities?...
In many cities of the global north, the first decades of the 21st century were characterized by a significant population and employment growth. In combination with neoliberal urban policies this growth resulted in an increasing competition for urban land and an increasing displacement pressure on urban functions with lower profit margins. Residential displacement processes such as...
Research on industrial transformation and collaborative development in small towns has garnered increasing attention against the backdrop of Chinese-style modernization. However, most existing literature focuses on medium- and large-sized cities or the transformation of traditional rural areas, lacking a systematic investigation of industrial evolution and collaborative approaches in small...
Cities, which host more than half of the world’s population, play a significant role as centers of economic, social, and cultural activities. However, this density also turns cities into hubs of crises. Especially today, the changing climatic conditions further complicate the effects of current urban threats, increasing the vulnerability of components that make up the city, such as economic...
There is a pressing need to reassess, innovate and improve educational frameworks to prepare a future-ready workforce reflecting on the escalating global challenges. In pris contribution, we examine the pivotal role of industry-academia partnerships in fostering innovation in cross-border areas in the EU, focusing on initiatives designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge...
The concept of “equalization of basic public services” has gained increasing attention in China, alongside the public's growing aspirations for a better life. However, significant challenges remain in addressing imbalances and inadequacies in public service, particularly in terms of regional, urban-rural, and demographic disparities(Xu et al., 2022). Aligning public service distribution with...
Since 2019, China has promoted the concept of "People-Centered Urban Development," emphasizing the role of public spaces as a core component. As metropolitan areas transition into a phase of incremental urban renewal, the Chinese government has repeatedly stressed the importance of urban renewal. The 2025 State Council meeting on urban renewal highlighted the need to accelerate infrastructure...
The last three decades have witnessed two parallel and possibly divergent developments. This season can indeed be described as the spring of post-positivist approaches to planning theory (Allmendinger, 2002) as well as of digital modelling applications intended as decision support systems in planning practice (Geertman and Stillwell, 2004). While these support systems faced the so-called...
The food system accounts for one-third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with significant contributions from agricultural production, land-use changes, and supply chain logistics, highlighting its critical role in the climate crisis (Crippa et al., 2021). Reports such as "Sustainable and Resilient City Region Food Systems" by FAO and RUAF underscore the need for...
The more the regenerative projects and experiments of paths of repopulation of the left-behind territories and mountainous areas advance, the more a fact emerges forcefully: the concrete difficulty of welcoming and accommodating, transforming them into inhabitants, the various people who today, in Italy, seem to express a growing demand for mountains.
This finding that emerges from the...
The contribution refers to the PRIN “Italia di Mezzo” and proposes the exploration of the Sacco Valley as an emblematic synthesis of the tensions between social and ecological dimensions that characterize the territories of Italy in-between metropolises and inner areas. In a territory marked by a century structured over time around various sectors, the river stands as a structuring axis and a...
The more the regenerative projects and experiments of paths of epopulation of the left-behind territories and mountainous areas advance, the more a fact emerges forcefully: the concrete difficulty of welcoming and accommodating, transforming them into inhabitants, the various people who today, in Italy, seem to express a growing demand for mountains.
This finding that emerges from the...
Economic Base Theory has historically provided urban planners with a conceptual model to understand the economic dynamics of cities and regions. It distinguishes between basic (export-oriented) and non-basic (local-serving) activities, emphasizing the role of external income in driving local economic growth.
While the Theory had a direct influence on urban planning in the first half of the...
The federal program “Sustainable inner cities and centers” supports measures in 218 municipalities across Germany in large cities, medium-sized and small towns and rural communities. The aim of the program is to support cities and municipalities in overcoming acute and structural problems (“desertification”) in city centers, town centers and district centers by (further) developing them into...
The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has strongly impacted various fields, including education, reshaping how students and educators approach knowledge creation and application in urban planning. In planning education, AI is increasingly being integrated into student work, from writing assignments to the visualization of future-oriented studio projects. While this presents vast...
Prisons are a space of contemporary periphery neglected and stigmatised in many parts of the world and, in particular, in southern Europe and Italy (Vessella, 2017). Prison architectures are 'introverted' structures (Milhaud, 2017; Moran et Al., 2017); they are often situated in the middle of nowhere and isolated from infrastructural networks and urban and social metabolisms (Infussi, 2020)....
This research focuses on the urban freight sector, a critical component of city planning and operations. Despite the sector's significance, it typically receives less strategic attention compared to passenger transport. With an annual growth rate of 1.7% for light goods vehicles and 10% for e-commerce, the freight sector's complexity is underscored by diverse stakeholder goals that prioritize...
Natural spaces are recognized as climate and environmental balancers for urban areas, becoming necessary to restore biodiversity and counter the effects of climate change (Maudsley & Wallsten, 2024; IPBES, 2019; IPCC 2022). Nature-based solutions (NbS) are an essential resource to guide the planning, design, and sustainable management of the cities of the future (UN, 2022). In Europe, the...
Climate change remains a persistent global challenge, significantly affecting critical infrastructure, including transportation networks. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heavy precipitation, floods, storms, and sea-level rise, all of which pose substantial risks to transport systems...
This paper examines the potential of smart city design as a transformative strategy for natural disaster risk reduction (DRR), using Songdo, South Korea, as a key case study. Urban regions are increasingly confronted with climate change-related threats, including floods, typhoons, and heatwaves. The incorporation of smart technologies and sustainable infrastructure offers creative strategies...
The European Union’s (EU) ongoing energy transition, rooted on frameworks such as the European Green Deal and REPowerEU, seeks to balance climate commitments with goals surrounding energy security and economic competitiveness. As the EU reconfigures its energy strategies, member states are required to adopt more ambitious renewable energy targets within increasingly constrained timelines. This...
In response to the escalating urban ecological challenges induced by global climate change, the pursuit of sustainable development and green low-carbon regenerations under the goals of peaking and neutralizing carbon emissions (dual carbon) has emerged as a pivotal approach to bolster urban resilience and enhance urban ecology. However, systematic research on the integration of urban...
The article builds on two generations of Area Based Initiatives (ABIs) in Trondheim from 2013, that are being implemented in neighborhoods where the Municipality has identified quality of life challenges as well as urban physical degradation. The first program of this kind was implemented in the twin-neighborhoods of Saupstad-Kolstad from 2013 – 2021 and with three new ABIs ongoing in the...
Current megatrends such as urbanization, climate and biodiversity crises, and environmental pollution demand humanity to transform its accustomed ways of operating. Responding to these phenomena requires a sustainability transition and transformative change, through which we move to comprehensively sustainable mode of operation in all areas of society. The extent and depth of these changes...
Cities face the wicked problem of dealing with the conflicting policy objectives of urban densification and climate adaptation. This problem is also known as the sustainable city paradox. Addressing and finding a solution to this problem is crucial regarding the present-day challenges of the pressing housing shortage and the perceivable consequences of climate change on the urban landscape,...
The contribution examines how climate risk and vulnerability assessments (CRVA) can be systematically embedded into real estate development to advance both urban climate resilience and compliance with emerging European regulatory frameworks. Using Milan as a demonstrative context, the study highlights CRVA’s value in meeting the requirements of the EU Taxonomy (European Commission, 2020) and...
The concept of the digital divide was introduced and evolved in parallel with the development of the internet and, more broadly, the digital ecosystems that have shaped European societies over the past three decades. Several strands of research can be identified, each contributing to the evolution of this concept through complementary perspectives that have helped shape the multifaceted...
Addressing food insecurity and optimizing food production in urban farming requires innovative, scalable solutions. This study presents an interdisciplinary approach integrating planning, geography, and data science to develop a drone image-based methodology for vegetable detection and yield estimation on mid-size urban farms. The research focuses on three urban farms located in or near...
With rising temperatures and the accelerating pace of global climate change, a host of environmental challenges have emerged, demanding urgent and innovative solutions. Carbon-neutral urban planning and design have become imperative to mitigate the adverse effects of these challenges. As cities and buildings are major consumers of secondary energy, they play a critical role in reducing...
Climate change and urbanization are intensifying heat stress risks, threatening public health and liveability (Böcker & Thorsson, 2014; Ebi et al., 2021; IPCC, 2022). Rising temperatures disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including those with limited mobility, low incomes, or health conditions (Ellena, Breil, & Soriani, 2020; Gronlund, 2014; Reid et al., 2009; Voelkel et al.,...
The intensifying impacts of climate change have underscored the need for effective governance and long-term planning to ensure heat resilience in urban environments. Greater Sydney, with its exposure to extreme heat events, presents a compelling case study in the challenges and opportunities of integrating heat resilience into urban planning. Heatwaves have long been under-recognised in...
Istanbul is a metropolis that both experiences the effects of multiple crises—sometimes even becoming part of the crisis dynamics—and has the potential to develop proactive solutions to them. Since 2019, the city has been actively working to address these challenges through innovative planning approaches.
The macro-scale planning outputs of these new approaches are the Istanbul Vision 2050...
The paradigms of built cultural heritage have undergone significant transformations over the past two decades. A critical element of this shift is the valorisation of urban landscapes as bearers of unique cultural value rather than mere collections of individual assets. This perspective inspired the development of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach. Formulated by UNESCO in 2011, the...
Green perception, as a crucial indicator for measuring urban greening levels and the visibility of neighborhood green spaces, is widely applied in research on built environment quality, resident satisfaction, social equity, attention restoration, and more. It holds significant importance in urban planning and public policy. With the rapid development of big data, machine learning, and...
This study proposes an innovative approach to urban morphology analysis by combining resilience detection with parametric design tools for small towns. The focus is on developing a computational tool that evaluates and optimizes the urban form and resilience of small-town road networks and built environments. The approach begins with the extraction of key spatial data, including road networks...
The 15-minute city concept has become a popular and actionable framework for accessibility-based planning. However, narrow interpretations of the concept are problematic as they prescribe a complete decentralization of urban functions overlooking the holistic nature of the 15 min city concept. Such narrow interpretations may lead to unrealistic goals or adverse effects on sustainability and...
Accessibility planning has become increasingly interdependent. Early research indicated that accessibility is dependent on both the transport and land use systems. Subsequent literature demonstrated that the telecommunication system also significantly impacts accessibility. Furthermore, it is established that accessibility planning is subject to uncertainties, which are intensified by emerging...
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, intelligent design has become a popular research approach in recent years, enhancing design diversity, flexibility, and efficiency through intelligent algorithms. The self-organized design of block forms is a key component of intelligent urban design, aiming to optimize urban spatial layouts through adaptive mechanisms and...
Progressing climate change and its consequences underline the necessity not just of climate change mitigation, but also of climate adaptation. To be able to conduct efficient climate adaptation, knowledge about the type and extent of climate impacts e.g., the effects of a heat on the spatial system in specific areas, is necessary (Aguiar et al. 2018: 48). Climate impact analyses (CIA) can...
With the enhancement of intercity travel convenience and the effective sharing of urban public resources, commuting patterns have evolved beyond single-city boundaries, increasingly reflecting inter-regional mobility. Compared to intra-city commuting, intercity commuting is characterized by a larger spatiotemporal scope, longer commuting durations, and a greater reliance on transportation...
In recent years, the transition towards sustainable and inclusive urban mobility models has emerged as a crucial challenge, especially in territories where car use is deeply rooted to the point of evolving into a dependency. Urban agendas and policy have long sought to rethink the role of private vehicular mobility in daily commutes against such dependency, moving beyond an approach solely...
Space and thus cities are dynamic organisms which tend to evolve according to their surroundings. With the incredible advancements of technology for the last half century, the perception of space has changed and gained importance in terms of digitalization. As public space is one of the most crucial parts of any type of settlement, it plays a big part in this shift of perception. Since urban...
This research critically evaluates the post-pandemic urban development trajectories and design-led regeneration projects emerging in Athens, Greece, following the compounded financial and humanitarian crises of recent years. Focusing on the Municipality’s most socioeconomically marginalised communities, this study interrogates how urban regeneration initiatives intersect with issues of race,...
The rapid growth of tourism has significantly threatened the function and form of historical towns. The combination of closely spatial buildings, high fire loads, and commercialization—factors that trigger fire initiation and propagation—has made historical towns more vulnerable to fire hazards (Garcia-Castillo et al., 2023). Furthermore, the large influx of tourists disrupts local...
The emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases has accelerated the global warming process, exacerbating environmental problems. Urban CO₂ concentration has become a new focus in CO₂ research. However, existing studies are often limited by single data sources, restricting the temporal and spatial scope of the research. This study addresses the issue of limited data sources by...
With the rollout of China's national strategy promoting metropolitan area integration, a plethora of urban planning practices spanning administrative boundaries are flourishing across the country, sparking considerable academic interest in a novel type of intercity adjacent regional unit—which we designate as "cross-border urban cooperation zones." The main contribution of this paper lies in...
The history of large-scale mining in South Africa stretches back more than 160 years. For more than a hundred of these years, Anglo American has been a major actor in this space, not only generating a large slice of the country’s corporate and personal income tax, but also providing (1) livelihoods and positive life chances to hundreds of thousands of South Africans, (2) the economic lifeblood...
UN-Habitat estimates that nearly 3 billion people, 40 per cent of the global population, will require access to adequate housing by 2030. Disaster relief operations face persistent challenges, including resource limitations, logistical jams, and delays in providing adequate shelter delays in delivering adequate shelter to those in need. These challenges call for innovative approaches that can...
Germany is currently experiencing a wave of large-scale urban expansion projects (Hesse 2021), driven by a growing demand for housing and an ongoing shortage of developable land within city centres. These new suburban developments are being promoted as models of sustainability and participatory, inclusive planning. However, in terms of participatory justice (cf. Blue et al. 2019), it is not...
The global trend of population aging is accelerating. The United Nations predicts that by 2050, individuals aged 60 and above will account for 22% of the global population. In China, as of 2018, the population aged 60 and above was approximately 178 million, the number of people with disabilities was about 85 million, and the low-income population reached around 282 million. These three groups...
Paper Title: Investigating the impact of Urban Form Elements on carbon emissions at Different Development Stages: Based on GWR and Random Forest Models
*Presenter:* Yihuan Wang (Southeast University)
Author(s): Yihuan Wang (Southeast University)
Topic Category: Carbon emissions, Urban development Levels, Urban forms, Geographically Weighted Regression Model, Random...
As urban populations age, understanding how urban green spaces (UGS) can cater to the needs of elderly residents is increasingly important. This study investigates how UGS quality influences leisure opportunities and contributes to the psychological well-being of elderly users. Drawing on the Recreationist-Environment Fit and Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theories, the research focuses on...
On February 6, 2023, Turkey experienced two major earthquakes, the first of 7.7 Mw and the second of 7.6 Mw, 8 hours apart. The epicenter of the earthquakes was Kahramanmaraş province. Along with this province, 10 other provinces were affected by these earthquakes, more than 50 thousand people lost their lives and approximately 40 thousand buildings collapsed.
Such a major disaster reveals...
Often formalized, if not ossified, governance structures frequently disregard engaging diverse voices and open the arena to alternative means of addressing local(ized) challenges. The inclusion of youth—often overlooked in decision-making—promises to bring fresh perspectives to shaping pathways towards more equitable and sustainable urban futures. However, youth participation faces significant...
The concept of activity space is crucial in urban and behavioral geography, offering key insights for pedestrian-scale neighborhood planning, such as 15-minute neighborhoods or life-circles. However, traditional methods struggle to capture the complex and varied morphologies of activity spaces beyond simple circular forms. This paper presents a novel approach using topological data analysis...
Gross domestic product (GDP) is an important variable used to compare regions and countries as a welfare indicator. But is GDP everything? Post-growth and de-growth approaches criticize the idea that solely focus on GDP growth. These alternative approaches, based on the unsustainability of unlimited growth, seek ways to ensure welfare, and sustainability and to conserve resources beyond...
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) have emerged as a key framework for addressing the transportation challenges of urban areas by emphasizing sustainability, inclusivity, and environmental responsibility. Developed within the European Commission’s policy landscape, SUMPs aim to integrate public transport, active modes like walking and cycling, and land-use planning into a cohesive...
Drawing on studies by complexity theorists, sociologists, historians and political ecologists, the paper proposes a critical and evolutional understanding (poly)crises (e.g. floods, fires, earthquakes, environmental contamination) at the intersection with socio-territorial inequalities in the global society of risk. Crises and disasters are hence critically analyzed in their socio-political...
An interesting recent debate made an impression on placemaking practitioners and planners alike. De Graaf’s confession that “I have no idea what placemaking is” (2023), still being relevant; one has only to browse the comments section, was followed by another confession by way of response, that of Marrades’s “I don’t care what placemaking exactly is” (2023). This round seemingly ended with the...
This presentation will explore two distinct yet complementary case studies that exemplify unique and synergistic approaches to urban resilience: the Metropolitan City of Bologna in Italy and the Marmara Region in Türkiye, a megalopolis comprising six metropolitan areas. It will deal with complex problems like including rapid urbanization, climate change, widening social and economic...
This paper explores the judicialisation of urban planning conflicts, a phenomenon that reflects the growing distrust in traditional planning processes and their inability to resolve disputes over land use. Judicialisation involves transferring decision-making from the political-administrative realm to the courts, where judges and lawyers mediate conflicts that should ideally be resolved by...
Urban spatial interventions of central and local governments in Türkiye’s cities in the form of master plans, plan amendments and piecemeal profit-driven initiatives have increasingly become subject to lawsuits in the past few decades. The two institutional actors that are at the center of this process are the Chambers of City Planners and the Chambers of Architects, which are the leading...
The 15-minute city concept, which advocates for urban neighbourhoods where essential services are accessible within a 15-minute walk or cycle, has garnered significant attention as a model for promoting sustainable and equitable urban environments. However, despite its promise of fostering just and inclusive cities, concerns have been raised about its potential to perpetuate unjust outcomes...
In response to increasingly complex urban development challenges, reports from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2024) and Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2020) indicate that smart cities are one approach to addressing rapid urbanization. Through applying science and technology to improve the quality of life, it is considered to optimize the allocation of resources and overall...
This paper explores the potential of behavioral interventions to drive a modal shift from unsustainable transportation modes to active mobility—walking, cycling, and wheeling— particularly with a focus on people in vulnerable situations, such as the elderly, women, children, people with disabilities, low-income groups, and their intersectionality. The research is conducted within the framework...
A defining planning challenge for contemporary European cities is the housing provision and affordability crisis. City planners are compelled to increase the delivery of dwellings, while addressing concerns about affordability, project viability, and functional complementarity through mixed-use developments. Moreover, in the context of climate crisis, these ambitions are accompanied by...
Major global environmental changes present mankind with challenges that can only be solved through the Great Transformation towards sustainable spatial development. The need for transformation arises in all systems such as civil society, the economy, and politics. Changes and upheavals not only occur in social coexistence and behavior, but also manifest themselves in the spatial structure,...
The increasing dynamism of the economy and the intensifying competitive environment are precipitating novel challenges for societies of knowledge, organisations and enterprises. Urban areas are recogised as focal points for social-spatial, cultural and economic activities within metropolitan and rural contexts. Despite the increasing connectivity facilitated by Information and Communication...
According to data from the European Environment Agency (EEA 2023), Poland is among the leading countries in the rapid transformation of undeveloped areas into residential development. Between 2012 and 2018, it ranked second in Europe in terms of the amount of agricultural, forest, and pastureland converted for housing purposes. These figures significantly exceeded those recorded in Western...
The paper presents various forms of ownership in Slovakia, their historical context and changes over time. The theoretical part focuses on the forms of land ownership relations in Horehronie, their specifics, uniqueness and use in the past. Results from field research, structured interviews and simple cartographic methods applied to the case study of Horehronie, provides an exploration of...
The overarching planning system, i.e. the legal framework that regulates the formal planning process, the distribution of responsibilities among public and private stakeholders through property rights and obligations, relates closely to the impacts planners and architects can have on urban development through their proposals. With the gaining prominence of achieving sustainable urban...
In many European countries, land-use planning is facing increasing and oftentimes contradictory challenges. The increasing demand for housing is at odds with the policy objective of reducing land take. Densification is often seen as a panacea, yet it entails new implementation challenges, particularly in situations of fragmented property rights. In order to understand how land policy struggles...
The Sundarbans mangrove forest, located in the Ganges Delta, neighbors numerous vulnerable coastal communities. The mangrove forests play a crucial role in sustaining local livelihood structures and providing key ecosystem services. Climate-induced change risks contributed saline waterlogging, and salinity intrusion in low-lying lands within polders through extreme weather events, such as...
The growth of tourism, and particularly second-home development, has created significant challenges for municipal land use planning in Norway. Ownership of a second home in the mountains or coast for sport and relaxation is a long-standing part of Norwegian culture and lifestyle. However, their growing numbers and intensive commercialisation in connection with new forms of tourism have raised...
Landscape assessment tools are fundamental to the Environmental Assessment framework (EIA and SIA). They enable a comprehensive evaluation of aesthetic, cultural, and ecological dimensions during the planning and implementation of plans and projects (Geneletti, 2011). The recent adoption of the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), a crucial regulatory measure aimed at reversing ecosystem degradation...
The rights to water and sanitation were recognized as autonomous, specific human rights "essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights" by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) on July 28, 2010, through Resolution A/RES/64/292. This resolution made it clear that providing universal access to drinking water and sanitation is an obligation of governments. In other...
Social innovation has long been hailed for its potential to tackle urgent social and economic challenges, particularly in academic and policy circles. It is seen as a means of enhancing local welfare by generating public goods and services while promoting collective empowerment. From a planning perspective, social innovation is viewed as a transformative tool capable of reshaping social...
There has long been a debate on whether and how civic action can contribute to redefining the role and functioning of institutions. Institutional change is not merely a rational or regulatory process; it is a path of trial and error. This process can lead to changes not only in the set of rules, procedures and methods of labor division in a given organization but also in the actual system of...
This paper investigates the local impacts of just transition policies in Ireland’s Midlands, focusing on communities most affected by the closure of peat power plants. These regions face the dual challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy while addressing historical disinvestment and limited capacity to develop new green pathways (Tödtling & Trippl, 2018; Grillitsch & Hansen, 2019)....
Urban transport systems are increasingly susceptible to natural hazards and climate-induced disruptions by posing significant challenges for urban resilience and public safety (Mattsson and Jenelius, 2015; Priolo et al., 2023). Ensuring the continuity of transport networks during and after crises is critical for both economic stability and sustainable urban development (Yang et al., 2022)....
Legitimacy and planning law – the case of National Development Management Policies in England
In England’s discretionary planning system development management policies (DMPs) are core components of local development plans and decision making on planning applications. The elaboration of DMPs has traditionally been the preserve of local planning authorities. Under the Levelling Up and...
In the past two years the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati explored studio teaching as an engaged pedagogy, incorporating interdisciplinary approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD) and themes from the American Planning Association’s (APA) Future Trends reports. These approaches have been tested in multidisciplinary capstone studios addressed to urban planning...
Urban and territorial systems face increasing challenges due to population growth, climate change, and social inequities, necessitating transformative approaches to spatial planning.
Urban green infrastructure, as a socio-ecological connections (Davies et al., 2006), addresses these challenges driving ecological, climatic, social, and cultural transformation. Among its benefits, Cultural...
Digital tools and platforms are profoundly transforming the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry, particularly by unlocking significant potential in advancing circular construction practices. This transformation is closely tied to the trend of platformization, where platforms reshape traditional industry workflows through data-driven processes and resource...
Climate change has intensified extreme rainfall events which have made flood risk management critical for cities (IPCC, 2023). Conventional drainage systems are struggling to cope with increased stormwater flows, leading to sewer overflows and localised flooding (Ashley et al., 2020). A shift towards resilient flood management is needed, focusing on polycentric governance, integrated...
The integration of emerging technologies into urban planning is essential for addressing complex societal challenges in the UK, including sustainable solutions for the exacerbated rise in housing demand (Wilson & Barton, 2023). The NERC-funded £8M Digital Solutions Hub (DSH), a cutting-edge GIS-powered platform, has designed a digital tool to help policymakers arrive at evidence-based...
Tourism is recognized as a powerful driver of sustainable development, generating positive impacts on territorial assets (Ballesta, 2024). However, it is also well-known that tourism can produce negative effects, as highlighted in current policy issues and trends (Zhang et al., 2022).
Positive (e.g. economic value creation) and negative (e.g. resident displacement) effects of tourism have...
Climate change represents a critical global issue for urban, periurban, agricultural, and natural areas, where significant alterations to ecosystems and habitats are occurring. According to the European Pollinator Initiative (EC, 2018), approximately 80% of crop and wild plant species in the EU depend, at least in part, on animal pollination. In this context, the Mediterranean basin is...
In an era of intersecting environmental, social, and economic crises, the theory and practice of planning must evolve to address the complexities of contemporary urbanization processes. This paper introduces Linear Research as both a theoretical and methodological framework for conceptualizing and comparatively analyzing urbanization processes at a planetary scale. Building on Brenner’s (2014)...
Past studies have raised concerns about the vulnerability of children to air pollution because of the characteristics of the places where they live and go to school (Chaix et al., 2006; König, 2024; Lim et al., 2017). Alongside these concerns, the past few decades have witnessed a substantial amount of research aimed at (i) understanding the factors associated with outdoor air pollution in...
Urban areas are emerging as central arenas for strategies to tackle global challenges in the context of interconnected climatic, ecological and social crises. One of the responses to these multiple challenges has been the integration of nature into cities, increasingly promoted in urban planning based on concepts such Nature-based Solutions (NbS). However, despite the growing endorsement of...
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) provide ecological, socio-cultural and economic benefits. However, in several cases they are less effective at performing such benefits, bringing inequalities and injustices in cities, such as access to NbS services, displacement through green gentrification, or lack of community participation. To deepen the concept of inclusive NbS we conducted a systematic review...
This paper investigates the transformative potential of urban planning by presenting the process through which the authors drew up a comprehensive Views and Vistas Analysis for Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Malta’s capital city. As a Mediterranean port city, Valletta's urban form and architectural heritage, deeply intertwined with its maritime history, reflect a rich tapestry of...
The idea that heritage is not solely composed of monumental sites or elements recognized by elites, nor merely an object or property defined through top-down policies and plans, has long been contested. Since the late 1960s, the rise of social movements worldwide has sparked a 'wind of change' that has profoundly influenced scholars and practitioners across multiple disciplines. This growing...
Sea level rise and the increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as storms and related storm surges, driven by climatic change, will increase such risks to coastal populations (IPCC, 2022). In the UK alone 82,000 properties are at risk of loss by the end of the century, with 2,200 of those by 2040 according to the UK’s latest climate change risk assessment. There are...
The interconnected risks faced by water cities—such as river basins, deltas, lagoons and coastal landscapes—require integrated approaches that transcend traditional planning methods and administrative boundaries. These areas, marked by ecological fragility and social vulnerability, are emblematic of the need for multi-risk and multi-scale adaptation strategies. Accelerating climate change...
Large-scale housing estates (LHEs) present a unique setting for the sustainable mobility transition we are trying to bring about. Largely built between the 1960s and 1990s, they were typically developed on the outskirts of cities at inexpensive locations following specific spatial configurations and urban design principles, such as the provision of open green space between apartment blocks and...
Cities facing global warming and economic challenges are exploring various strategies to address these issues. The Circular Economy (CE) offers promising solutions, but the effective integration of its strategy at the urban level remains debated. This research focuses on circular maker spaces that blend new technology with creative industries within the framework of Circular Economy (CE)...
Sweden depends on international markets to meet its current food demands. The development towards the present degree of import dependence began in the mid-1900s, with a political shift towards structural transformation and industrialization of the agri-food sectors. Alongside shifting domestic consumption habits towards resource-intensive foods, this has caused Swedish food consumption to...
Linking affordable housing with urban redevelopment has emerged as an approach to promoting housing affordability in cities facing fiscal constraints. Drawing on the case of China, the research explores why and how local authorities use innovative strategies to secure affordable housing through urban village redevelopment. By conceptualizing the implementation of innovative instruments as a...
Climate change impacts such as rising sea levels and the increasing intensity of storms and cyclones pose growing risks to Australia’s lifestyle, environment, and economy. Queensland is one of the most vulnerable states to the coastal climate change impacts in Australia with the highest number of residential and light industrial buildings and the greatest value of existing road infrastructure...
This presentation examines the views of local planners towards the implications, challenges and barriers of (re)designing public spaces within the context of urban and ecological transitions in suburban and metropolitan areas.
Nowadays, the importance of public space is widely disseminated across academic research and policy-making, often emphasising its paramount contributions to sustainable...
Access to adequate and stable housing is among the most pressing challenges faced by migrants across Europe, profoundly influencing their socio-spatial inclusion and right to the city (Ager & Strang, 2008; Muñoz, 2018; Boccagni, 2020). In Italy, these barriers are compounded by structural deficits in housing policies and pervasive discrimination (Marconi & Shkopi, 2022; Semprebon et al.,...
The growing population of older adults in North America faces numerous challenges in meeting their everyday transportation needs. In Canada, the oldest and most rapidly aging cities are mid-sized cities with populations between 100,000 to 1 million (Government of Canada, 2024). Compared to large metropolitan areas, mid-sized cities tend to rely more heavily on personal automobile-based...
This study aims to understand the institution and governance for metro infrastructure financing at the local government level in China, where competing interests and negotiations could arise among public actors. In recent years, the metro system has been the main infrastructure investment - 53 cities across China built a metro system as of 2022. Moreover, Chinese metro companies are developing...
Cultural heritage has gained importance in distinguishing cities and places in the competition for attracting international visitors. In the last decades, this prompted new projects to make historic sites more appealing, accessible, and functional to tourists. While a certain degree of novelty – e.g. new projects for historic buildings, museums and heritage areas – proved to be attractive, it...
Greening projects have begun to dominate urban planning as a presumed ‘public good’ initiative, carrying with them a wealth of claims to bolster health, well-being and social cohesion. Yet, such projects are often conceived and implemented without attention to their political contexts, ignoring the power asymmetries and injustices inherent in urban governance and the inevitability of winners...
The construction of sports complexes often aims to host large sporting events and foster urban area development (Baade and Dye, 1988). During the post-event period, these complexes must maintain economic gains by providing commercial facilities with sports and living services. However, the poor performance of facilities has led to a waste of urban resources. The facilities' profitability...
The concept of Child-Friendly Cities (CFC) was formally adopted as a nationwide urban development goal in China in 2021, more than two decades after UNICEF introduced it. Following the launch of the national CFC initiative and the selection of pilot cities, many cities have embraced CFC as a developmental strategy, issuing spatial plans aimed at enhancing urban inclusiveness and liveability....
Over the past few decades, the role of and need for plans, as written and agreed documents, has been questioned or denied by many planning practitioners and theorists (Neuman 1998; Moroni 2023). Nevertheless, plans continue to be produced by organisations and governments at all spatial levels and to be used in addressing a wide range of complex urban and social futures.
All planning and plans...
The spread of renewable energy sources (RES) represents nowadays a main goal both at European and at national level, being “decarbonization” one of the key solutions to counterbalance climate change. However, the effective balance between global concern for climate change and local attention to landscape quality may give rise to several conflicts (Stremke and Schöbel, 2018). The current push...
In 2013, the star architect responsible for the new subway station in Naples’ Piazza Garibaldi declared that he was “a little jealous of the other metro sites [in Naples], where there are some ruins, where there are some traces of history.” Preliminary archaeological surveys had revealed, in the architect’s words, an underground space “that history hadn’t taken over yet.” The shared...
Exploratory scenario-building processes have proven valuable in addressing uncertainty and complexity in urban and transport systems by creating coherent narratives that capture broad trends at global or national scales (Banister & Hickman, 2013; Tuominen et al., 2014; Melander, 2018). However, a significant challenge lies in bridging these exploratory scenario narratives with spatial and...
Understanding public perceptions of historic districts demonstrates a pivotal role in both heritage conservation and sustainable urban development. While traditional surveys have long been the standard tool for gathering public opinion, social media commentary has emerged as an increasingly valuable data source, offering deeper insights across broader temporal spans and proven effective by...
For sustainability transition policies and plans to succeed, they must address territorial specificities and mobilize commitment from communities most vulnerable to transitional challenges. Otherwise, they risk being perceived as creating "winners" and "losers," eroding trust in governance, increasing resistance to change, and exacerbating polarization and social unrest (COM, 2022). Active and...
Over the last twenty years, inequalities within cities have started to grab increasing attention among scientists and policymakers (Nijman and Wei, 2020). In fact, evidence suggests that cities across the world are again witnessing growing socio-spatial disparities due to new driving forces for urban development, often deriving from uncontrolled global processes (OECD, 2018). The reason of...
This study examines Norrbotten’s transition towards sustainability by analyzing and mapping regional indicators in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using GIS-based spatial storytelling, it visually represents the current state of prioritized SDGs in Norrbotten, Sweden. This story map integrates data-driven insights with region-specific indicators to provide...
The Positive Energy District (PED) is an urban development strategy aimed at reducing energy consumption while increasing energy production to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. This concept is built upon earlier sustainable city initiatives, such as carbon-neutral zones and zero-energy communities. PEDs are districts or neighborhoods that have been transformed to achieve annual...
Urban planning is inherently linked to the design and production of spaces, yet traditional methods often struggle to address the complexity of contemporary urban challenges. Understanding the relationship between urban form and historical development is crucial for designing sustainable and resilient cities. This study explores the potential of emerging computational methods to enhance urban...
As part of the European project “Human Cities-SMOTIES: Creative Works with Small and Remote Places,” Alternance Architecture and Urban Planning, in collaboration with the Faculty of Planning and Design at the Agricultural University of Iceland, conducted a project on historic public spaces in the small town of Borgarnes, Iceland.
Titled “Sögutorgin” (Historic Squares), it aimed to design a...
Since the onset of the 21st century, China's rural revitalization has been predominantly driven by governmental initiatives and fiscal investments, resulting in substantial enhancements to rural living environments and infrastructure development. However, post-construction phases reveal persistent challenges in long-term operations and maintenance, posing sustainability concerns when relying...
Sharing economic development achievements is crucial for urban inclusivity. As globalization progresses and the economy grows, urbanization has become a vital indicator for assessing the socio - economic development level of a region. As an inclusive urbanization model, in - situ urbanization centers on the interests and demands of the rural population, a disadvantaged group. It can reduce the...
Cross-border spatial identity refers to the multifaceted perceptions of identity that residents develop through their interactions and behaviors in cross-border spaces. It constitutes a critical framework for evaluating the progress of cross-border regional integration and plays an essential role in fostering a shared sense of regional community and advancing integration initiatives. The...
This research delves into the current dynamics of participatory approaches within the arts and culture scene of Kayseri, a city renowned for its profound historical and cultural heritage yet plagued by notably low levels of cultural engagement. This study addresses the pivotal gap in existing research by exploring the factors that inhibit cultural participation and devising actionable...
Measuring inequalities in accessibility is a common subject in transport research. Yet, the question of how the choice of destinations affects the results is seldom asked. The paper addresses this issue by providing an overview of existing literature and comparing accessibility to five categories of destinations typically considered in such analyses: education, jobs, healthcare, retail, and...
Over the past three decades, the city has transformed from the most dangerous city in the world to a globally celebrated example of integrating social inclusion into urban transformation. This study explores Medellín’s Social Urbanism as a transformative urban planning paradigm shift, accommodating multiple narratives while adapting to an ever-evolving reality. Social Urbanism is characterised...
Public spaces are increasingly recognized as pivotal sites for fostering social interaction, cultural expression, and political engagement. However, face of social and climate challenges, their potential as environments for future shaping and hope fostering is intrinsically related to the effective engagement of diverse communities, aiming to overcome structural social inequalities. This paper...
The prompt growth of medical tourism (MT) due to globalization has significantly impacted urban infrastructure, socioeconomic order, and environmental sustainability in host cities. Istanbul, a significant destination for international MT, serves an illustrative case study for analyzing this phenomenon. This study investigates how MT expansion affects urban planning, emphasizing the...
This paper highlights a critical challenge: although metro projects are rationalised to enhance accessibility—a fundamental public good—the benefits of new metros are often captured by gated communities in China. As of 2022, 53 cities have metro lines with a total network length of 9,584 km. Metro infrastructure is a vital component of the "land-infrastructure-leverage" strategy—a response to...
Metropolises are increasingly spaces of stark inequalities, characterized by significant disparities in access to resources, housing, and opportunities. While traditional academic literature highlights the positive impacts of the metropolitan scale in fostering economic growth through agglomeration effects (Scott & Storper, 2015; Glaeser, 2011), recent scholarship identifies a critical gap:...
The metropolis is conceptualised through two contrasting paradigms: its attractiveness, stemming from its centrality within the global urban hierarchy, and its multiple crises—socio-spatial segregation, environmental degradation, urban service failures, and political fragmentation (Bassand, 2007). In the context of intensified interurban competition, metropolitan attractiveness is contingent...
Up until recently, significant studies have been published on the living conditions of migrants in Greece, notably in state-run camps (Tazzioli 2024), rented apartments from UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) programs (Kourachanis, 2022) and self-managed housing squats (Tsavdaroglou and Kaika 2022). However, the issue of energy in relation to migrants’ housing appears to...
Urban public spaces, which naturally draw diverse users and activities, remain a key topic of discussion, especially as migration and urban unpredictability continue to rise. Theories on public space highlight the importance of social interactions in all urban environments, including superdiverse examples. However, particularly in ethnically diverse, disadvantaged communities, urban policy and...
The growing migration of Somali students to Türkiye, facilitated by Türkiye Scholarships and strengthened diplomatic ties, reflects a complex interplay between migration policies, cultural identity, and spatial practices. This study investigates the experiences of Somali students in Ankara, focusing on how Türkiye's supportive policies influence their migration decisions and spatial...
In the city of Milan, the gap between salaries and housing costs continues to widen. As the divide deepens, homeownership (by those who already own or inherit) or financial support are becoming almost necessary conditions for living and working in the city. For those who cannot rely on either of these conditions, the almost constant upward trend of property values and rents has a strong impact...
Social Media Data(SMD) offers an essential approach for the public to acquire the perception of urban space. However, information from social media often gives the public a stereotyped impression of historic districts driven by the development of the current internet celebrity economy and social networks, viewing them as culturally meaningless aesthetic spaces (e.g., photo check-in point,...
The North Adriatic coastline has undergone profound transformations due to the interplay of human interventions and natural forces. Two major modernization projects, in particular, have reshaped the region: the early 20th-century land reclamation efforts, which converted marshy areas into productive land, and the extensive developments that established coastal resorts, now among Italy’s...
The proposal draws on Italy's National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI), a place-based policy designed to address the multifaceted development challenges faced by Italy’s inner areas, which are often characterized by demographic decline, geographic isolation, and inadequate access to essential services. SNAI represents a novel policy framework in Italy that emphasizes the importance of...
In the era of depopulation and aging, public transportation demand is undergoing profound changes. Urban planning strategies, such as the compact city model, have been proposed to address these challenges by concentrating population and services into denser urban areas (OECD, 2012). While these strategies aim to enhance sustainability and livability, they also alter the spatial distribution of...
Since the 1980s, many cities in Europe, including the Eurométropole de Strasbourg, have implemented policies to reduce transportation and mobility related negative impacts, especially those caused by individual cars. In the Eurométropole de Strasbourg, measures have been introduced to limit car use while promoting sustainable transport. This includes developing public transportation, enhancing...
This study explores the exposure to vehicular emissions in relation to social vulnerability. It takes a disaggregate, activity-based modelling approach to estimate tailpipe emissions at the road network level. The vulnerability index was derived based on socioeconomic information from census tabulations. It is necessary to investigate the exposure of harmful emissions on vulnerable populations...
Parks, squares, streets as urban public spaces build the skeleton of the city, which is filled with urban tissue. The importance of the public spaces makes various actors, such as inhabitants, activists, non-governmental organisations, officials and local entrepreneurs interested in the process of creating them. Including the interests and wishes of all of them in that process is a demanding...
Cities in the Global South are experiencing profound processes of urban renewal that, like to capitalism, need to be understood in their inherent dualities and tensions. These processes involve transformations that simultaneously produce and destroy, accumulate and dispossess, and oscillate between dominant narratives and dissident practices. This paper examines three neighbourhoods in the...
Urban regeneration projects as transformative operations that strengthen and restructure the built environment under the risk of natural disasters have become one of the prior urban policies. These disaster-responsive projects not only aim to support resilience but also contribute to sustainability and increase the quality of life by optimizing the green infrastructure. One of the main...
Although urban planning has traditionally revolved around human-centric narratives, emergent discourses highlight the need to incorporate the “more-than-human” dimension into planning arenas. Building on the theoretical framework of relational ontologies, this paper describes an experimental initiative that applies an art-based methodology to a process of citizen engagement focusing on the...
Motility is a biological term, referring to the capability of organisms to move independently. The research "MOTILITY - Metabolism Of inTersectIonaLITY” starts from this metaphor, to investigate mainstream discourses on Urban Metabolism (UM), Sustainable Development (SD) and Circular Economy (CE), recently criticized for being focused on technological issues, neglecting spatial and social...
The rapid urbanization of cities brings struggling conditions for both people living in cities and the governments responsible for managing the complex issues of urban areas. Although the adoption of smart infrastructure in cities provides important opportunities for the management of particular systems, collaboration with citizens through these systems is not sufficiently supported. Citizens’...
This paper outlines a specific phase of the whole methodology and initial findings of the RETURN Urban Living Lab (ULL) implemented in the Bagnoli-Coroglio area of Naples, Southern Italy. Developed as part of the Extended Partnership PE3 RETURN project within the Spoke TS1-Urban and Metropolitan Settlements activities, the initiative aims to foster collaboration among stakeholders to guide the...
This contribution presents a critical reflection on the implementation and outcomes of several EU-funded projects (Life and Interreg), developed by the authors, which have supported the establishment of an innovative collaborative and adaptive environmental governance that have stimulated a governance system by integrating formal regulatory frameworks with voluntary agreements and...
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the global population aged 60 years and above will account for 16.67% of the total population by 2030. 80% of the elderly population is expected to reside in developing countries by 2035(World Health Organization, 2024). As the world’s largest developing country, China is experiencing an unprecedented aging crisis. As of 2023, the elderly...
In recent years, global climate change has intensified the frequency and severity of extreme rainfall events, while rapid urbanization has substantially expanded impervious surfaces. This expansion has led to elevated surface runoff, which poses a substantial threat to urban hydrological security. Synergetic grey-green infrastructure (SGGI) offers a promising paradigm for the effective...
Participatory and inclusive urban mobility schemes have been rising as a significant trend in response to various challenges that arise in street transformations, such as political, financial and regulatory obstacles. The multiplicity and diversity of stakeholders that influence and that are influenced by planning and design decisions are important factors to take into account when devising...
Since migration is an urban reality, many cities are unavoidably associated with the politics of multiculturalism. However, multiculturalism refers to a variety of incomplete and everchanging political strategies and processes in different countries, calling for a rethinking of the social and spatial integration of immigrants and new ways to live together for urban planners and designers. In...
Enhancing urban water resilience is a key challenge for climate change adaptation. Cities worldwide are implementing strategies to address increasing threats such as flooding, drought, and water scarcity. These efforts depend on local community engagement, alignment with national policies, and financial support from international donors. At the same time, national governments and donors rely...
In classical China, cities and villages functioned as two distinct yet complementary communities: the former served administrative and economic functions, while the latter acted as a foundation for agricultural production. However, as modern urban development advanced in China, this complementary urban-rural relationship gradually disintegrated. Cities came to be regarded as “advanced,” while...
The study investigates how do the multiple modes of intra- and inter-city rail-based services (in India) take safety, green, cleanliness, and inclusivity of public transports into consideration through its planning and design and to what extent these objectives are met. Technical, financial and institutional perspectives are considered. The study also asks how these modes contribute to public...
Street transformations are often complex processes that must navigate diverse perspectives and competing interests, making consensus-building both essential and challenging. Narrative-based approaches, such as storytelling and role-playing, offer a powerful means to bridge these gaps by fostering empathy, promoting reflective thinking, and enabling a shared understanding of different...
This study investigates the Campi Flegrei landscape, a unique historical and archaeological context shaped by its striking geomorphological features, to develop new methods for interpreting the territory that combine structural and semantic analyses of natural forms.
The research aims to propose innovative tools for enhancing cultural landscapes through the definition of "semantic routes"—...
Public space's role in urban quality is widely known: it defines the city's structure, provides material support for community life, and represents civic and religious powers and values. The mechanisms of public space production are manifold: they can be either the result of an urban plan realized by the public entity on public areas, or the result of more complex urban projects promoted by...
Nature-based solutions (NbS) are intentional, strategically planned, and evidence-driven approaches that replicate, harness, or draw inspiration from natural processes to tackle societal challenges. These solutions are grounded in scientific principles and prioritize the integration of biodiversity, ecosystem services, and sustainable resource management to foster environmental, social, and...
To respond to increasing climate risks and transform regions towards systemic climate resilience, nature-based solutions (NBS) are widely considered a promising approach. Yet its implementation is still in its infancy. One of the obstacles is that NBS need more land than structural risk mitigation measures. This land is often in private landownership. It is challenging to activate such land...
How can the spontaneous renaturation of brownfields contribute to sustainable urban regeneration while integrating ecological, social, and economic objectives? The study examines the potential of spontaneous renaturation in brownfields, with the purpose of valorising the ecological regeneration methodology.
The rapid deindustrialisation of the 20th century left behind a vast number of...
Human mobility has been investigated as a key factor in the challenges faced by left-behind areas (LBAs), yet its actual capacity to drive sustainable development remains underexplored. This study critically examines the case of Valle di Viù, a mountain area in the Turin Metropolitan Area, Italy, to explore the limitations, contradictions, and potential of relying on human mobility to address...
For planning, and planners, a long-standing tension persists between technocratic governance and advocacy for the right to the city (Tasan-Kok et al., 2016). While planning power traditionally manifests through practical tools and legal instruments, its true influence often lies in the pre-implementation stages through narratives and visioning that shape urban futures. This dynamic becomes...
The covid-19 pandemic of 2020 hit Albania just three months after the earthquake of 29 November in the Durrës area, with 54 victims and hundreds of buildings damaged. The two crises reshaped the terrain of the political agenda toward the territory in terms of both more centralizing planning policies and the decision-making processes of rebuilding and renewal. The author believes that, for...
Estuaries are dynamic and contested spaces of high environmental, economic and social relevance in Europe and worldwide. Over decades, offshore port locations have been developed in estuarine regions, creating strong economic dependencies at the national level, such as the ports of Antwerp and Hamburg. In addition to unregulated economic growth in these multifaceted spaces, estuaries face...
Muslim women refugees, particularly those from conflict-affected regions such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, face unique and intersecting barriers related to gender, religion, ethnicity, and refugee status. These challenges significantly impact their spatial integration in host cities, shaping their perceptions of belonging and access to resources within urban environments. The...
Chinese food markets serve as the infrastructural nodes binding and solidifying diverse urban-rural flows through the agri-food exchange while experiencing continuous state-led remoulding. This paper examines a specific food market as the dynamic node embedded within broader city-region food systems, emphasising its role in fostering more justice and inclusive food networks. Based on the...
The structural transition in Lusatia, Germany, prompted by the national coal phase-out, exemplifies the complex interplay between technocratic governance and divergent public narratives. Despite sustained economic stability, bolstered by job creation and infrastructure improvements, public sentiment often remains tied to the decline of the region’s energy-intensive industries. Stories that...
Urban energy systems account for over 70% of global carbon emissions, making the adoption of renewable energy sources crucial to achieving global reduction targets. In recent years, wind, solar, and waste heat have all experienced considerable growth. However, mismatches between fluctuating renewable energy supply and the steady demand patterns of traditional urban energy usage often lead to...
Cities worldwide are embracing ambitious mobility transformation policies aimed at reshaping built environments to prioritize walkability, cyclability, and overall livability. These initiatives are part of a broader urban planning paradigm shift that seeks to reclaim space from cars and return it to pedestrians and cyclists. Policies such as 15-minute cities (Papadopoulos et al., 2023),...
In an anthropogenic era marked by recurring environmental and socioeconomic crises and heightened unpredictability, planning regional futures for a sustainable transition has become an increasingly pressing and complex challenge.
In Portugal, however, regional planning has historically been overlooked within the national spatial planning system and public policies. This is largely due to the...
The paper explores regional gap scenarios balancing society-economy-environment domains amidst escalating uncertainties. The study exemplifies multiscale peripherisation of Estonia at EU external borders, with a strong impact on the urban system of depopulation, green deal, and the geostrategic security agenda. The latter has still been understated and remote in regional and cohesion research...
In the governance of sustainability transformations and foresight, participatory futures have gained significant traction in the last decade. Participatory futures/foresight discourses involve engaging various stakeholders, including citizens and communities,in shaping sustainable and liveable futures. In so far, research has primarily focused on
designing participatory processes but there's...
Public spaces are critical components of urban life, serving as venues for social interaction, cultural expression, and community engagement. This study examines the interplay between formal and informal practices in place-making within public spaces, focusing on the urban context of Huifang, China. The research situates public space as a dynamic entity shaped by appropriation, governance...
The interplay between universities, urban environments, and their diverse populations often presents both unique opportunities and challenges. This case study examines how best to mitigate challenges while building on opportunities through the use of participatory practice approaches in the university classroom. The approaches leverage theoretical instruction in conjunction with participation...
Since the 1990s, European policies have aimed at fostering "sustainable development" by reducing fossil fuel consumption and promoting renewable energy in cities (Luque-Alaya et al., 2018). However, rising housing costs have exacerbated social inequalities, a trend further exacerbated by the 2007 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing geopolitical tensions (Housing Construction...
Turkey operates under a regulatory planning system; however, zoning plans allow for significant flexibility through plan notes. This flexibility often leaves urban development and transformation at the mercy of market dynamics. As a result, plans fall short of providing a clear vision for cities and fail to ensure sustainable urban development.
This study aims to explore how zoning plans...
The contribution revolves around the "Borderland Brussels" project (BCUS-VUB, 2020-2022) and further research-by-design explorations (Cosmopolis, 2023-2025) which examine urban borderlands—spaces defined by political, physical, and symbolic borders—through interdisciplinary research in urbanism, anthropology, and criminology. These borderlands, shaped by migration, exclusion, and tension, are...
In the face of rapid urbanization, cities in the Global South are increasingly turning to digital technologies to navigate complex developmental challenges. GIS-based planning tools have made significant strides in improving spatial analysis and participatory urban planning processes by providing access to robust and scalable data systems. Geo-ICT tools are celebrated for enabling...
This contribution lies on a relational understanding of spatial imaginaries as collective understandings of socio-spatial practices produced through political struggles over the conceptions, perceptions and lived experiences of place (Davoudi, 2018). As an expression of power relations, the need to negotiate different and conflicting spatial imaginaries has emerged in recent planning practices...
This paper critically examines the transformation of spatial planning in Brazil, marked by a shift from participatory and comprehensive frameworks grounded in master plans and zoning regulations to negotiation-driven, project-specific approaches shaped by the interests of private investors. Historically, Brazil’s planning system has adhered to the normative principles of the City Statute,...
Vendor markets, often perceived as merely hubs of commerce, are, in fact, vital generators of urban life. Historically, food markets have played a pivotal role in fostering community resilience by creating employment opportunities, integrating immigrants, and enriching cultural identities (Morales, 2010). The social spaces nurtured within markets help shape the unique identities of modern...
Previous studies on neighborhood attachment in China have mainly focused on specific neighborhood types, such as work unit compounds and commercial-housing estates, while overlooking others. There is therefore inconclusive evidence on this theme, particularly in inland cities. To address this gap, this study examines neighborhood attachment across five main urban neighborhood types in Chengdu....
This study utilizes the Korea Labor Panel to explore how neighborhood characteristics moderate intergenerational mobility of income and assets in South Korea. We employ moderation analysis using MPLUS to examine the interaction between parental socioeconomic status and neighborhood factors, such as average income, wealth distribution, and housing stability. The findings indicate that...
With the continuous increase in the aging population, ensuring the mobility of older adults contributes significantly to their physical and mental well-being as well as their social participation. The built environments in neighborhoods with the concept of healthy aging are a critical area of focus of study. The older adults heavily rely on walking as their primary mode of neighborhood travel....
Neighborhoods are more than mere physical spaces; they are dynamic socio-spatial assemblages that reflect the interplay of identity, diversity, and community while serving as key loci where space and society become tangible. Often overlooked in urban planning, neighborhoods are increasingly recognized as critical platforms for addressing today’s multifaceted crises, such as climate change,...
Since the 1950s, China’s rural areas have provided abundant cheap land, labour, and agricultural products to fuel urbanization and industrialization. To sustain this role, the state established institutional arrangements that marginalized rural areas in administrative, fiscal, and land development rights, alongside an unequal welfare distribution structure between urban and rural residents...
Due to the proliferation of big data and open data, cartography and spatial analysis have profoundly transformed in recent decades. These advancements have redefined how geographic information is collected, processed, and represented, enabling more dynamic, precise, and inclusive mapping practices. By leveraging open data repositories and big data analytics, cartographers can create maps that...
As initiatives in recent years have emerged in both the public and private sector experimenting with new and increasingly intelligent technologies in the city, privacy has become an important topic of scholarly discussion. However, relatively few authors have focused exclusively on the particular toll these, especially AI-driven, technologies may take on the privacy of the homeless. Not only...
In the recent debate about the sustainability of our lifestyles in the cities, the current status of small urban settlements and their interdependent relationships are frequently overshadowed and neglected by the so discussed expansion of bigger metropolitan cores. The actual focus of the debate that arises, in terms of spatial nature of metropolitan development, affirms that among bigger...
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is the most significant economic resource plan ever allocated to Italy. However, it was not developed based on a comprehensive assessment of the needs across various sectors. In Rome, this structural deficiency is especially noticeable. Notable gaps include the lack of funding for Roma camps and anti-violence centres, insufficient efforts to...
The evolution of housing development policies in Lagos has responded to the growing population and urbanization challenges since Nigeria's independence in 1960. The rapid influx of migrants seeking better opportunities has exacerbated the housing deficit, necessitating policy interventions aimed at affordable housing solutions. Considering the 22 million housing deficits in Nigeria (World...
In international comparative terms, the EU has excelled in adopting a set of nature-protection policies and directives. However, these have not been enough to restrain urban and infrastructure development that continues to consume agricultural land and open landscapes. Aware of the urgency caused by climate change, the EU has adopted a set of policies that switches the focus from designating...
High-quality community public spaces are vital for fostering social interaction and improving the physical and mental well-being of elderly residents. Among various factors influencing the quality of these spaces, outdoor thermal comfort stands out as a critical indicator. Thermal comfort arises from the dynamic interaction between the built environment and thermal conditions, primarily...
The contemporary planning paradigm emphasises the importance of communication, collaboration, and public participation, reframing planners as facilitators and communities as key stakeholders in decision-making processes. This approach seeks to create equitable inclusive spaces for dialogue among diverse stakeholders, focusing on citizens and communities as central players in shaping spatial...
The book Normative Species by Peregrin offers an innovative perspective for urban planning by redefining the role of rules as a central element in the construction and management of urban space. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the book highlights how norms are not merely prescriptive tools but constitutive components of social reality, essential for the organization of institutions and...
In Naples' periurban fringe, the case of Parco Terranostra in via Boccaccio challenges conventional urban planning approaches by revealing how spaces beyond institutional control can become laboratories for socio-ecological justice. At the heart of this experience lies a three-hectare former aviation fuel depot that became an unexpected laboratory for alternative forms of urban space. In 2015,...
As societies strive for sustainability, the mobility transition emerges as one of the most pressing challenges of spatial planning, influencing not only transportation networks but also the interconnected systems of energy, housing, and social infrastructures. This presentation addresses the challenge of achieving a socio-ecological mobility transition that considers diverse spatial...
In the scientific literature, small towns are often presented as places with a combination of demographic (population decline), economic (marginalised by globalisation) and even social (high concentration of poor people) vulnerabilities. In France, research on small and medium-sized towns has a long history, but scientific debate and the focus on metropolisation issues overshadowed them in the...
The impacts of climate change have increased the risks for many cities to the point where policy makers and planners need to consider more proactive adaptation options. Nature-based solutions (NbS) have been recognised as an important strategy for both mitigating and adapting to climate change, particularly in urban settings. NbS enhance resilience and green infrastructure, but their benefits...
To influence the formation of alternative trajectories for socially and environmentally just futures, transport and urban planners must challenge the status quo. To achieve this, they must actively facilitate a ‘cultural reform’ by bringing in new insights, knowledges, new narratives and new discourses with a commanding presence. However, the currently dominant ontologies, epistemologies,...
Comprehensive blueprint plans present a fixed end state for years or decades into the future, detailing elements such as land uses, zoning, and building regulations (Davoudi, 2021). Since the 21st century, criticism against blueprint planning has intensified, leading to a surge in adaptive planning concepts within planning literature, highlighting that blueprint planning is unsuitable for...
Urban streets are critical spaces for addressing the intertwined challenges of mobility, equity, and sustainability. Far from being mere conduits for movement, streets are dynamic public spaces (Bertolini, 2020) where diverse mobilities and needs intersect, and where issues of justice and equity are contested. Drawing on Mimi Sheller’s (2018) foundational theories of mobility justice, this...
Planners today face an unprecedented dual challenge: addressing the immediate demands of crises like climate change, social inequality, and economic instability while ensuring justice and equity in the long term. These overlapping crises often intensify existing disparities, compelling planners to critically engage with ethical principles as a guide for transformative action. This paper delves...
Inclusive urban and rural development emphasizes a more equitable and sustainable society by ensuring the same economic opportunities and social welfare between urban and rural. Recent decades have witnessed unprecedented rapid urbanization worldwide, with the global urbanization rate rising from 47% in 2000 to 57% in 2023. The ongoing massive rural-urban migration, especially the inflows into...
Today, mobility faces significant challenges, including last-mile connectivity, resource efficiency, and optimisation, all while maintaining service quality and environmental sustainability. These challenges are further amplified by factors such as urbanisation and territorial dispersion.
The core challenge lies in designing a flexible and adaptable model that responds to the specific...
As affordable housing expands to the urban fringe, remote locations and inadequate public transport support make it difficult for residents to travel. With long commuting distances and sparse station distribution, non-motorised vehicles have become the main means of connecting to the metro or bus due to their economy and flexibility. However, the existing parking facilities are not planned to...
Open spaces in cities, serving as vital carriers of blue-green infrastructure and urban wind corridors, are crucial for mitigating urban heat island effect (UHI). This study aims to further investigate the complex relationship between open space morphology and UHI, propose corresponding optimization strategies, and validate them through simulation.
Taking Xishan District in Wuxi City, Jiangsu...
The dual challenges of climate change and environmental degradation place immense pressure on urban environments, making it critical to integrate carbon-neutral strategies into the early stages of planning and design. This study focuses on campus renewal, using the Xi’an East Station Hub Core Area as a pilot to explore innovative approaches for low-carbon, climate-resilient urban design. By...
The transition to a climate-neutral building stock by 2045 is a pressing objective for the architectural and construction sectors. This research examines the decision-making processes surrounding the renovation, roof extension, and potential demolition of post-war residential buildings in Germany, with a focus on the architect’s role in integrating environmental and climate considerations into...
One of the most pressing issues our cities face today is the constant rise in temperatures, leading to heat islands, biodiversity loss, increased mortality rates, and overburdened national energy systems. The solutions most commonly used today, such as air conditioning systems, involve significant energy consumption. This creates a cycle of dependency on energy resources and widens the gap...
Smart cities are a new paradigm of urban developmental transformation in the 21st Century for cities across the world. There is no universally agreed conceptualization or definition of the notion of Smartness and Smart cities, and cities around the world have developed their operational models of Smartness at the intersection of urban planning, technology-based transformations - primarily...
The cities exposed to multiple transitional flows have been facing various challenges which especially affect vulnerable and marginalised groups. The strong division between the winners and the losers of the neoliberal mechanisms reflects in urban setting and its public spaces, where the discrepancies between the reality and the globally announced mantras of sustainability, resilience, equity...
Urban green spaces enhance the well-being of the elderly (Wolch et al., 2014). Green spaces provide recreation, exercise, and social interaction, improving their quality of life. However, this group is more vulnerable to disparities in green space distribution and accessibility (Aliyas, 2019). This study focuses on including urban green spaces for the elderly, referring to their ability to...
Urban green infrastructure (UGI) is widely recognised as an effective tool to address pressing environmental challenges. Successful UGI implementation depends on effective collaboration between city administrations and civil society, fostering democratic decision-making, aligning grassroots initiatives with municipal strategies, improving resource distribution, and ensuring more...
This paper examines the intersection of urban cultures, heritage, and transformation processes through the case study of the former Marsala Tito Barracks area in Sarajevo. Originating from a collaborative research effort between the University of Ferrara and the University of Sarajevo, developed in the frame of an Erasmus+ exchange program (Action Type KA107), the work extends from earlier...
The relationship between public housing policies and ownership presents several challenges which often stem from the tension between the goals of providing affordable housing for low-income households and the realities of market dynamics, socio-economic factors, and policy implementation (Phang & Pacey, 2018; Aalbers, 2016; Rolnik, 2013; Rohe, Van Zandt, & McCarthy, 2002). Iran’s Mehr Housing...
In the light of social movements that started in the 1960s, individuals began to demand equality and democratic processes. With discussions on the individual's relationship with the city, participation was included in urban studies, especially in the second half of the 20th century. As the 21st century came, it is passing as an age of crises because of consecutive crises ranging from...
Many cities in the world today are facing the slowdown in economic growth, the reduction in fiscal revenue, and the resulting challenges in public space governance. With the slowdown in China's economic growth, urban construction has also entered the stock regeneration era from incremental development. Community planning and community regeneration based on the built environment require the...
Public space is a symbol of democracy. For this reason, it is important to seek democratic methods in the design of public spaces. In this study “Public Participation” essentially means allowing people to be involved in the planning and development of the city, shaping their urban environment, and having the opportunity to be involved in anything and everything that is happening in that space...
Contemporary urban governance systems in heritage management face unprecedented complexity and challenges, particularly in reconciling participatory planning aspirations and realities with the need to balance the everyday life practices of local communities and formal planning processes. While UNESCO's 'living heritage' framework emphasizes the conservation of both tangible and intangible...
Adapting urban planning practices to mitigate and respond to the impacts of climate change is an urgent global challenge. In Finland, urban typologies and planning practices significantly influence the amount and structure of residential greenery (Leppänen et al., 2024). For instance, single-family housing areas, which dominate urban land use in many Finnish regions, present unique...
Participatory planning in Brazil is frequently celebrated as a cornerstone of urban governance designed to foster sociospatial justice. However, its implementation exposes significant ethical and operational challenges. This paper examines how contemporary master plans, developed in the nation’s major metropolises, are influenced by moralized narratives that oversimplify the complexities of...
While global crises directly affect planning practices by increasing political, economic, and spatial uncertainties, they also create opportunities to strengthen solidarity and generate new organizational models. Crises not only expose the fragility of existing systems but also underscore the need to rethink and restructure them. In this context, it is critical to examine how the planning...
Participatory urban planning has emerged as an essential approach to addressing urban decline and fostering sustainable development. This study examines South Korea’s Majeon Urban Regeneration Special Program, implemented in Majeon Village, Geumsan County, as a case study to assess the effectiveness and limitations of participatory planning in the Korean context. By analyzing planning and...
Motivation and research question
Cities contribute 70% of total greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2022), with the heat sector as a major, hard-to-decarbonize contributor. Solutions such as transitioning to renewable energy, electrification, and improving building efficiency require coordinated local action involving multiple stakeholders and varying infrastructure needs.
To guide the...
China's overall public transportation passenger volume shows a fluctuating downward trend from 2020-2023, and the national commuting high-peak traffic congestion index rises year by year during the same period, which puts the development of public transportation at an urgent stage. Against this backdrop, many cities in China have attempted to develop innovative public transportation services...
Suburban densification represents a particular type of densification for transforming areas between the inner-core and rural periphery. It consists of many different types of small-scale development activity, including infill construction on empty/redundant/repurposed plots, conversion of former commercial premises and subdivision of dwellings. While densification efforts in general have...
Achieving just energy transition in post-conflict Ukrainian cities requires addressing multiple layers of transformation. As Ukraine moves toward EU membership, aligning its energy transition with EU climate and energy policies is essential for joining related programmes and fostering inclusive and resilient urban development (Energy Community, 2024). This transition goes beyond...
In contemporary settings characterized by rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and limited access to natural resources and food, numerous countries face many challenges. A salient issue in Turkey is the sustainability of urban governance, which impedes resilience. The nascent implementation of participatory processes and democratic active participation and the discordance between...
Focusing on Brussels, the research project WELCOMIN* aims to explore long-lasting forms of shared governance and ownership to overcome the fragile conditions of many civic initiatives legally framed as temporary occupations. The working hypothesis at the core of this project is that many of these, maintained by the communities for the communities, interweaving care practices for the human and...
The research is aimed at studying the patterns of development and integration of new mass housing residential areas on the periphery of Moscow in logic of postmetropolis urbanization (Soja 2000). The rural areas annexed to Moscow less than 15 years ago have increased their population to 750,000 people, and by 2035 1.5 million will live here. In fact, an urban mega-satellite built from scratch...
Border areas exhibit unique characteristics in the formation of cooperative relationships, influenced by the interplay of international and national conditions at central, regional, and local levels. Additionally, the existence of the border as a barrier in many dimensions, including spatial, economic, socio-cultural, plays a very strong role. Under these conditions, the initiation and...
Optimizing urban morphology is a pivotal strategy for reducing carbon emissions, thereby fostering sustainable urban development (Gurney et al., 2015). In this context, human-machine collaboration significantly enhances the efficiency and scientific rigor of urban morphological design. However, traditional methods often rely on post-evaluation processes, which are inefficient and fail to...
What do students need to know and be able to do to work effectively in the unfolding world of climate breakdown, and polarized challenges to governance? In our recent curriculum transformation, this question has been at the heart of our work in the School of Planning and Sustainability at the University of Northern British Columbia. In this paper, we present the theories that guide the work,...
This paper examines urban mobility as an embodied experience, where movement is shaped not only by physical displacement but also by social, political, and cultural dimensions. Drawing on Tim Cresswell’s distinction between movement and mobility, it argues that mobility involves the meanings and power dynamics embedded in movement. In the city, mobility is shaped by obligations, identities,...
London has been going through a population growth since the 1980s. This population growth has been paired with a neoliberal planning approach, in which city-making relies heavily on private-sector developers, and in which public authorities follow a private development logic. Since the beginning of the 21st century, local authorities have viewed social housing estates as places for...
Improving public transit to attract new riders and retain existing ones has been seen as a major priority for many cities worldwide. This is to foster their abilities to move towards sustainable development by meeting their CO2 emissions reduction goals, while achieving a wide array of social, equity, and economic objectives. Cities strive to understand how users perceive different challenges,...
At a time when the ecological destructiveness of urbanization and its contribution to environmental problems is widely recognized in mainstream discourse, Urban Political Ecology (UPE) offers a crucial critique of urban design and planning. UPE challenges these practices to align with agendas prioritizing social equity. Even ecological urbanists, despite focusing on sustainability, face...
With the significant growth of urban populations, cities are expanding rapidly, making urban sprawl a critical global challenge that necessitates urgent attention in policy agendas. This trend leads to various negative outcomes, such as increased energy consumption from a heightened reliance on automobiles, elevated levels of air and water pollution, and severe traffic congestion that hinders...
Amidst the tide of global competition, the evolution of metropolitan regions and the associated phenomena of polarization and peripheralization have garnered increasing scholarly and policy attention. As urbanization and regional integration advance, Shanghai's central urban district has witnessed continuous expansion, with its competitiveness and influence in land use dynamics, industrial...
During summer and autumn 2024 the Ville de Luxembourg, Luxembourg established a new process to update their decennial ((2004, 2014, 2024) local neighbourhood plans. Combining top-down dissemination of approved large-scale urban developments with residents via the concept of Apéri’tours, integrated bottom-up participatory activities included urban sketching, sound recordings and participatory...
The presentation highlighted a comprehensive framework encompassing intelligent diagnostics, simulations, configuration, and creative design. From enhancing water security and ecological resilience in Wuhan to optimizing spatial layouts and generating innovative urban features, the talk demonstrated how AI empowers urban development with precision, efficiency, and sustainability.
Wu...
The increasing frequency and severity of climate-related disasters highlight the urgent need for inclusive and adaptive governance that prioritizes local engagement. Traditional top-down climate strategies often fail to address community-specific needs, leading to ineffective disaster preparedness and long-term adaptation (Ziervogel et al., 2017). Grassroots climate initiatives frequently...
The urban model and the globalised food system are key factors in crossing several of the planetary boundaries. The food system directly affects several of the planetary boundaries and biophysical integrity: climate change, novel entities, biogeochemical fluxes, biodiversity, and changes in freshwater and land use. (Kronenberg et al., 2024(. Reducing pressure is essential, since the biosphere...
Yangjiale is a form of homestay in Mount Mogan Village, Zhejiang Province, China. Newcomers from surrounding metropolises rented abandoned village houses in the local area, turning them into BnB, thus initiating a form of rural tourism called Yangjiale. Later, Indigenous Mount Mogan people, who lived in the surrounding cities, returned to their places of origin to exploit the new opportunities...
In the last years, aesthetics has paid increasing attention to negative sensations (Berleant’s negative aesthetics) and to individual judgements that cannot aspire to universal validity (Saito’s everyday aesthetics). The agreeable or pleasant, and especially its converse the unpleasant, have considerable motivating power for action and creativity (Forsey, 2016), despite the limited...
The global crises of climate change, resource scarcity, and public health have profoundly reshaped the operational logic of urban spaces and the spatiotemporal patterns of transportation networks. Urban mobility systems must not only adhere to sustainability goals but also enhance resilience to uncertainty. In China, severe mismatches in the supply and demand of public transportation persist,...
Of the approximately 7,000 documented languages of the world's languages, nearly 50 percent are endangered and at risk of linguistic extinction (Bromham et. al., 2021). The United Nations (UN) proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages, acknowledging that most of the linguistic diversity projected to be lost in the coming century comprises Indigenous languages (United...
Public trust in democratic governance structures (including planning structures) is at historic lows (OECD, 2022), while attacks on democratic institutions, coupled with increasing support for ethnonationalist political parties, warrant palpable concerns for a looming anti-democratic/anti-planning turn, globally (Freedom House, 2021). But attacks on democracy and public-sector planning stem...
The global aging problem is becoming increasingly severe, and the innovative application of robotics technology has emerged as a key driver for upgrading the elderly care industry. In the face of the dual challenges of accelerating global population aging and the surging demand for elderly care services, how to rapidly and effectively integrate robotics into elder care has become an urgent...
Over the last decade the affordability of housing has become a major policy issue and increasingly a concern for governments as house prices have risen dramatically with respect to wages. Whilst land is limited in supply and fixed in space, the quantity of credit and investment has expanded over time. The high liquidity has driven property prices at a much faster rate than rises in incomes,...
This paper repositions planners as central actors in multi-scalar capital flow governance, moving beyond planning’s traditional focus on local value capture intervention within the United States. By exploring multi-scalar regulators – from national to local actors – and intra-national dynamics that shape capital flows, the paper highlights the limited spatiotemporal character of contemporary...
The paper presents the results of a project to co-design and develop recommendations for food emergency planning that also promote longer term and deeper change for food and health justice, while fostering resilient communities in places in England. It sets out the conceptual and practical findings underpinning the resulting ‘call to action’ for planning beyond emergency food. This arises from...
In general, the Latin American planning framework lacks a regulative body for characterizing the urban and the rural areas (Minvu et al., 2018), highlighting the need for integrated approaches that balance the complementarity roles of the urban and rural (Garzilli et al., 2022). Several authors have pointed out the necessity for a new scale of analysis to tackle the transitional spaces that...
Despite the complex and interdependent nature of contemporary and future urban challenges, which certainly require a comprehensive and integrated approach, planning education needs to provide students with specific analytical and operational competences. Furthermore, the role of planners has evolved significantly in the past decades: no longer envisioned as all-powerful visionaries, they are...
The energy transition has become a crucial issue in recent years, particularly regarding urban sustainability. However, current academic and practical discussions often emphasise management perspectives and technical expertise within a political context shaped by historical and contemporary practices. This paper explores a planning perspective essential for a just urban energy transition,...
Electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen-based energy systems are emerging as transformative solutions in the transportation sector, offering the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions and promote a cleaner environment. By 2030, hydrogen is expected to complement other renewable energy sources, playing a pivotal role in the energy transition alongside EVs (Tran et al., 2023). However,...
Modern urban planning was born and consolidated as a means of managing, and thereby facilitating, urban and economic growth. The recent shift to the pursuit of ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ growth still accepts this basic orientation. Today, emergent, ‘degrowth’ and ‘post-growth’ planning are instead fundamentally questioning the focus on enabling growth, in whatever form, following the...
Urban planning plays a crucial role in advancing social justice, public health, and gender equity in parallel. Increasingly, scholars are investigating the field’s potential to simultaneously enhance outcomes across all three areas through planning for gender health justice. This scoping review assesses the extent to which planners are incorporating gender in healthy cities scholarship,...
After decades of deregulation and market-oriented reforms, government interventions and justice-oriented policies are gaining traction. The European Commission’s Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) is an example of a justice-oriented planning approach. In this talk, I show how the grammar on justice as developed by the European Commission in the European Green Deal is not aligned with the needs of...
Soils are pivotal to multiple environmental processes and services, including carbon sequestration, water buffering, biodiversity, and food production. Yet they remain marginalized in planning practices, which, if they do, predominantly focus on erosion control and avoiding soil sealing. In the age of "wicked problems", the need for innovative and systemic approaches, i.e. a nexus approach, is...
Facilitating the adoption of innovative adaptation strategies by populations at risk is one of the major challenges that public authorities will be facing over the coming decades. For example, rising sea levels and the recognition that millions of additional individuals will be exposed by 2100 underscore the growing relevance of managed retreat as a viable option (Haasnoot, Lawrence and...
The concept of a "play-friendly city" has emerged as a significant focus within contemporary urban planning and policy discourse, reflecting an increasing recognition of the pivotal role of play in fostering children's development and overall well-being. While the promotion of spaces that encourage play and physical activity for children has gained broad global endorsement, the practical...
Shelter need and response are unmet in most cases during emergency and post crisis (EPC) period due to the nature of calamity and poor planning practices. Planning practices are influenced by multi-actor logics that contribute to designing conflicting strategies both in horizontal and vertical terms.
Following two years of heavy war in Tigray (2020-22), a large number of IDPs have influxes to...
The significance of the socio-spatial environment for ‘ageing well’ is encapsulated in a growing number of planning-oriented agendas for ‘age-friendly’ cities and communities. Such programmatic frameworks and urban planning strategies revolve around questions of how to create ‘healthy ageing’ environments, foster ‘caring’ neighbourhoods, provide social infrastructures that enable people to...
Next Generation EU, translated into National Recovery and Resilience Plans, stands in Italy as the first ambitiously funded opportunity for territorial regeneration in decades. It consists of six missions (to which the REPower EU directive was recently added) covering the digital transition and innovation, infrastructures, health, education, social inclusion and the green transition...
The use of electric vehicles (EVs) has increased, with the global motivation for zero emission goals for mitigation of climate change. After the slow increase period of EVs, when EVs are mostly in trial period and charged at homes, the current rapid increase period also brought up the issue of needed charging stations, especially in the public domain. In the Oslo example, public EV chargers...
This roundtable will look at trust in planning and trust in planners with a focus on professionalism and expert knowledge in a populist, polarised “post-truth”, era, where the sense of “public interest” remains vital but is in dispute. In a broader international context, trust in institutions and experts is often deemed to be under pressure. However, looking more closely to trust in...
This paper traces the changing role and conceptualisation of social infrastructure in Brussels’ urban planning tradition, paying particular attention to the interactions and power dynamics between the planners, policymakers, and citizens involved. We will examine whether and how these actors have thought about social infrastructure as a category and included it in plans, as well as what the...
The WALKMORE project addresses a critical aspect of planning and developing efficient and sustainable transport systems for the future: encouraging more walking. This is examined within the context of small Norwegian cities from both planning and user perspectives, through three main research activities (WPs):
1. Examining planning processes that shape the built environment.
2. Investigating...
In the years and decades following WWII, global energy and resource consumption were unleased on a hitherto unseen scale. The fields of earth system science, history, and planetary health continue to grapple with the causes and consequences of this ‘Great Acceleration’ – a proposed entry point into the Anthropocene. For its part, the profession of planning is yet struggling to put into an...
Planning theory literature has changed signfiicantly since the emergence of planning theory as a subdiscipline. In recent decades, the literature has moved away from big conceptual turns and 'grand theories.' But what has it moved towards? This paper originates from the author team's interest in the question: what has planning theory research focused on in recent years? What are key streams of...
The financialization of urban development—particularly through conceptualizing volume as a medium of value production and extraction—has garnered significant attention in urban and regional studies. However, existing research often overlooks the critical role of real estate appraisers in enabling land value capture and the financialization of space. This paper contributes to the volumetric...
This roundtable will address the role of academic planning publishing in today's world of multiple and protracted crises. It will include perspectives from editors of leading planning journals such as Planning Theory, European Planning Studies, Planning Theory & Practice, European Journal of Spatial Development, and disP - The Planning Review.
By engaging with the Congress theme, this...
Gameful participation with tangible objects and collaborative design games introduce innovative ways of engaging stakeholders in urban development. Design games are playful and facilitate structured idea creation by securing collaboration. They contain physical materials and clear rules, driving discussions and insights. A specific example is the “StreetForum Design Game” where players...
The global transition towards sustainable transportation systems is essential for mitigating the environmental and societal impacts of climate change. As a cornerstone of efforts to decarbonize the transport sector, electric vehicles (EVs) hold substantial potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve urban air quality, addressing critical global challenges. However, achieving...
Over the last twenty years, both the academic and political debates have focused on the concept of "diversity" (Vertovec, 2007, 2010; Meissner and Vertovec, 2015) and, in particular, on the increasingly growing "diversification" of diversity (Vertovec, 2007 p. 1026) of contemporary societies and cities.
If a convergence on the importance of the concept of diversity is established, however,...
Tourism plays a vital role in rural revitalization efforts, yet disparities in its popularity persist, even in areas supported by targeted policies. The rise of digital platforms has transformed destinations into tradeable assets, commodifying culture, heritage, and visitor experiences. While globalization and overtourism have intensified challenges, digital technologies also offer new avenues...
The presentation introduces several dimensions of the concept of accessibility by proximity that may better frame the actual contribution of proximity in different planning experiences finalised to promote the Xmin city model. Challenging an acritical use of the proximity concept based on the physical spatial-temporal conditions and a focus mainly on dense compact urban contexts, the...
The presentation introduces several dimensions of the concept of accessibility by proximity that may better frame the actual contribution of proximity in different planning experiences finalised to promote the Xmin city model. Challenging an acritical use of the proximity concept based on the physical spatial-temporal conditions and a focus mainly on dense compact urban contexts, the...
Climate change significantly impacts urban areas, intensifying extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and storms, which strain infrastructure, compromise housing, and threaten public health and livelihoods. Cities also contribute approximately 70% of global CO₂ emissions, mainly from transportation and buildings (IPCC, 2022). Addressing these challenges requires integrated strategies...
In recent years, numerous energy transition projects on the scale of the neighbourhood have emerged, along with a range of concepts and programmes to stimulate, support, streamline, mainstream or assess these. Many of these initiatives intend to achieve their ambitions through a meticulously engineered combination of technical and social interventions. When confronted with real-world...
The field of heritage faces growing pressures to demonstrate its benefits or contributions as funding declines and the sector is required to conform to results-oriented systems. In this context, arguments suggesting that urban heritage fosters social cohesion gain prominence. However, these arguments often do not specify how urban heritage can enhance social cohesion, which is further...
As the global community intensifies efforts to mitigate climate change, the role of urban areas in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become increasingly critical. This paper explores the potential of university campuses to serve as decentralized energy systems that contribute to GHG reduction. Campuses, with their diverse energy demands and capacity for innovation, present unique...
This paper asks what is envisaged for being in a post growth world. It stems from the observation that in calling for a transformation of human relations in almost every sphere of action, post growth and degrowth, are in some way talking about a transformation of human being. For example, according to Savini (2024, p. 4) ‘Degrowth envisions a shift in the social norms that sustain the...
The increasing frequency, intensity, and global impact of natural disasters in recent years has heightened the urgency for effective disaster management and recovery strategies. Among these disasters, earthquakes are particularly concerning due to their potentially devastating and unpredictable consequences, which can result in substantial loss of life and property on a global scale. Examining...
The development of urban infrastructures and services has historically followed a growth-oriented, path-dependent model, particularly in medium- and small-sized municipalities in peripheral European regions (Kirkpatrick & Smith, 2011; Næss, 2006). This trajectory, often reinforced by structural and economic changes linked to European Union integration, faces increasing challenges from...
As cities move beyond growth-focused models, the connection between urban texture and human scale offers a clear way to design spaces that put people first. Historically, urban growth has often prioritized economic expansion and infrastructural development, leading to dense and sprawling urban forms. While this growth facilitated economic wealth and connectivity, it frequently resulted in the...
The territorial scale is the most relevant and visible testing ground for the current ecological transition, given its systemic character as a complex interface of environment and society. In the context of post-growth planning strategies and policies, territorial design assumes a crucial role as a tool for implementing and realizing the transition itself. Non-metropolitan regions, and...
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted educational systems worldwide, including planning education in higher education institutions (HEIs). This disruption presents an opportunity to critically evaluate how higher education planning curricula can adapt to address contemporary global challenges, including climate change, social inequities, territorial fragility, and migration. For...
Urban densification is increasingly advocated by planners throughout Europe as a viable solution to housing shortages and the reduction of land uptake. By optimizing existing urban spaces, densification promises to alleviate the pressure to develop greenfield sites, thereby preserving natural landscapes and promoting sustainable urban growth. Suburban areas have huge potential for...
In the historical process, urban space, urbanization, and urban planning dynamics have been changing and transforming in response to developments that create ruptures in society and living conditions. In the 21st century, innovations in transport and communication technologies have changed the perception of time and space, leading to the redrawing of urban boundaries. This transformation has...
Changes in the urban physical environment under the development of urban agglomerations affect the evolution of spatial patterns of regional heat islands. Using time-series DMSP/OLS and NPP/VIIRS nighttime lighting data and MODIS surface temperature data, the overall coupled posture model, coupled coordination model, spatial autocorrelation model and landscape index were used to investigate...
The housing market is considered a critical sector and a driving force in nearly all economies. In Türkiye, ongoing economic instability has further amplified the significance of the housing sector, fueling a steady increase in housing prices nationwide. Given its critical role in the Turkish economy, the housing market’s trajectory is crucial not only for economic stability but also for...
Climate change presents historically and culturally significant cities with unique challenges in adapting to its impacts while preserving their heritage. This research investigates the interplay between cultural heritage preservation and climate adaptation in Siena, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995. The study, born from the ISOCARP YPP (Young Planning Professional) Workshop "Valleys of...
For about twenty years, the last mile of delivery has become a category of public policy in Paris. The left-wing coalition (socialist, environmentalist and communist) currently in power in the French capital has addressed this issue several times during the last municipal term. This is evidenced by two "shock operations" (Halpern, 2020) that this paper examines. On the one hand, between 2020...
The role of public space continues to be significant amidst substantial transformations in political systems across various European cities (Madanipour & Knierbein, 2004; Svirsic, Zlatar, and Niksic, 2021). In current discussions and in response to that, even the term 'public space' has increasingly evolved into 'common space' (Castro & Martí, 2016; Hardt & Negri, 2011; Foster & Iaione, 2016;...
In this research we explore how urban planners negotiate and respond to changing industry and land use governance contexts. We seek to better understand if and how planning systems adapt in response to emerging and ongoing urban challenges. Our focus is on urban industrial land use planning and the role of planners in shaping productive city futures oriented toward reintegrating manufacturing...
It is time to better understand how despite numerous constrains innovative, equitable practices that lead to progress have emerged in cities in the global south and east, especially acknowledging new development pathways which are different than how cities in the developed countries had evolved. While terms such as “Global North and South” are defined based on economic performance, the...
This roundtable will focus on the role of project management in addressing the challenges faced by EU cities, with a particular emphasis on cross-border urban projects. As cities contend with pressing issues like climate change, energy transition, digital transformation, and sustainability, effective project management is important for fostering collaboration, optimizing resource use, and...
Urban development and spatial planning are complex processes that require interdisciplinary coordination, efficient resource allocation, and long-term strategic thinking [1-2]. This paper explores the critical importance of project management as a discipline in addressing the challenges inherent in urban development and spatial planning. The study emphasizes how project management...
Equitably distributed urban green spaces, as an important component of environmental justice, can mitigate health inequalities; however, due to financial bias and gentrification, urban green spaces tend to be concentrated around neighborhoods of high socioeconomic status, while inequalities are more pronounced in urban public green spaces compared to private green spaces. Green space vitality...
Heritage tourism plays a pivotal role in balancing cultural preservation and urban development, particularly in regions where historical significance and modern expansion intersect. As urbanization accelerates globally, heritage sites face threats such as commodification, gentrification, and environmental degradation, challenging the sustainable management of cultural landscapes. Existing...
The commodification of housing and urban land has taken an increasingly serious turn, in a challenge to modern urban development. Financialization of property markets, driven by speculative investments, has driven-up prices, outbidding middle- and low-income groups from market opportunities, intensifying socio-spatial inequalities. The same condition applies in various parts of the world, such...
Rapid urbanization has posed numerous challenges for major cities around the world, with a critical issue being the shortage of adequate parking spaces. As reliance on private vehicles has increased, the availability of parking spots has not kept pace. Consequently, drivers often spend significant time searching for parking, which leads to higher carbon emissions. To address this problem, the...
Biodiversity conservation and enhancement are increasingly central to urban and regional planning, yet a significant gap remains in understanding how local planning authorities translate high-level policies into effective practices at the city and project levels. While much of the existing research has focused on mapping biodiversity, ecosystem services, and ecological conditions using...
Urban macro-scale landscape management plays a crucial role in shaping a city's identity and reinforcing image of city for tourists. A key challenge in this process is balancing the preservation of natural and traditional urban environments with urban development. One institutional measure to achieve this balance is the application of building height regulations in the area between the view...
Cities are a major source of carbon emissions, and in a time of frequent extreme weather, how to realize sustainable urban development through emission reduction and sink enhancement has a bearing on the fate of mankind globally. Urban blue-green infrastructures have outstanding carbon sink benefits and potentials and are the baseline ecological carriers for carbon sequestration and sink...
The ongoing debate on urban walkability features three primary perspectives (Forsyth, 2015). The first approach focuses on critical conditions of pedestrian environments, including accessibility and connectivity (Alfonzo, 2005; Moudon et al., 2006; Ewing & Cervero, 2010), traversability (Dovey & Pafka, 2020), compactness, safety (Buehler & Pucher, 2017; Lo, 2009) and inviting environment...
Previously localised in Global North countries, population ageing is rapidly involving also the Global South. For older people, the possibility of getting out of the house and walking in one's neighbourhood to access basic opportunities is crucial for maintaining autonomy and quality of life, as well as for ageing healthily. However, in Latin American cities, the incidence of crime and the...
The concept of proximity can be a useful framework for interpreting and designing the urban environment. It aids in understanding spatial and social relationships while serving as a design tool to shape those interactions. This paper explores the resurgence of proximity in urban planning, offering insights for policymakers and designers.
The concept of proximity has gained international...
The contribution is framed within the framework of urban studies concerned with right to the city, co-production processes and alternative management models for public resources needed in territories targeted by necrocapitalist drifts and phenomena of urban exclusion and expulsion.
We present the first implementation phases of the Urban Living Lab Naples (ULL Naples) of the Erasmus+ PS-U-GO...
This paper presents an initial set of thoughts around the idea that professional disciplines – in the ways that they interact with each other (and how they act in the world generally) – can demonstrate many of the characteristics of a ‘personality’. Because planning almost invariably finds itself embedded in interdisciplinary, cross disciplinary and transdisciplinary environments (Davoudi,...
Global economic instabilities are causing various changes in individuals' daily lives, and public space is also being affected by these transformations. One of these transformations is the evolving practices of alcohol consumption, influenced by both rising alcohol prices and the search for alternative social gatherings. Public drinking is not just about consuming alcohol; it is also a form of...
Background: Historic districts can offer positive emotional experiences to the public (Scopelliti et al., 2019; Reece et al., 2022). Visual perception is one of the most direct ways people experience historic districts, so the visual landscape characteristics of historic districts may influence public emotions. However, emotional experiences and visual landscape characteristics have often been...
According to Mumford (1938), public interest serves as an umbrella concept that reconciles conflicting individual interests and facilitates decision-making for social benefit. While frequently invoked in urban planning, it is often instrumentalized to legitimize profit-driven practices. However, in Turkey, the discourse on public interest lacks a critical perspective, particularly regarding...
Southern European cities have been hit hard by economic austerity, climate-related events, impact of migration flows, as well as socio-sanitary damages during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this multiple-crises context, public open spaces in Athens, Greece, become sites of transformation and resistance under an ongoing commodification, supported by a persistent 'austerity urbanism' (Peck, 2012)...
The transformation of underused industrial sites into vibrant public spaces is a growing challenge in contemporary urban planning. While traditional regeneration approaches often prioritize physical rehabilitation, this study introduces chrono-urbanism and music as dynamic triggers for reactivating industrial sites as inclusive, dynamic public spaces. Chrono-urbanism emphasizes the temporal...
Public open and green spaces have been identified as being essential to the promotion of the well-being of urban areas and their communities (UN-Habitat, 2025). When integrated into public health-oriented urban planning strategies (WHO, 2020), they have been shown to be capable of mitigating spatial, environmental and health inequalities (UN-Habitat, 2023). The presence of an accessible...
At the international level public spaces play a key role in the development of urban areas as they act as places for social encounters, political contestations and cultural events (Siláči and Vitková, 2017). In social sustainability reports and in documents of international organizations such as the Agenda 2030 it is stated that public spaces play a central role in shaping social interactions...
This research investigates how public spaces act as catalysts for the formation and evolution of spatial identity within the context of Slovenian settlements. Focusing on the dynamic interplay between historical and contemporary urban development, the study examines how the design, use and social significance of public spaces contribute to, and are influenced by, the nation's unique cultural...
Fifteen years after the approval of Rome’s Master Plan, less than half of the designated green and public service areas are accessible. This is due to delays in land acquisition, management issues, the presence of incompatible uses, and the divestment of originally planned facilities. As a result, only one-third of urban areas meet the legally mandated provision of 18 m² of public space per...
Urban development in the Netherlands increasingly addresses a wide range of societal challenges, including housing shortage, sustainable energy transition, social inequalities, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. As a result, development processes have become increasingly complex. This complexity has led to a renewed interest in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as governance...
Urban regeneration has been included in the urban planning of different cities, either as a response to observed urban degradation and decline or to give new functions to obsolete areas and control urban growth. Despite its enormous importance in today's urban contexts, urban regeneration is not a simple task, and, in many cases, urban regeneration projects are complex, involving different...
Public spaces fulfill central socio-cultural, political, and economic functions for cities. What constitutes a public space goes beyond mere question of ownership of spaces by public authorities, but it includes spaces that fullfil such public functions. Since the 1990s, there has been an increase in semi-public (sometimes also referred to as hybrid spaces), where functions of public space are...
This session aims to explore the process and challenges of publishing in planning research, featuring editors from planning journals, such as: Habitat International, Progress in Planning, Journal of Planning (Planlama) and plaNext. Each editor will have 10–15 minutes to share advice on publishing—highlighting their do’s and don’ts of submitting a paper—and offer their critical perspective on...
In this study, a methodological approach that aims to implement climate neutrality through spatial planning policies is defined and applied. The measure of carbon sequestration (CS) is taken as a reference to estimate the status and evolutionary dynamics of this phenomenon, analyzed and evaluated as associated with the supply of certain types of ecosystem services (ESs), in relation to the...
As the global urbanization process advances, a large number of rural people move to cities in search of better economic opportunities. This has led to the gradual emergence of the phenomenon of "hollowing out" in rural areas[1]. The "population-space coupling theory" proposes that the essence is the asynchrony between population change and spatial change， and scholars call it the imbalance of...
As global climate change accelerates, cities worldwide are increasingly affected by wet-heat stress (WHS), driven by the combined effects of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) and Urban Moisture Islands (UMI). Human perception of the thermal environment depends on both temperature and humidity. While UHI has been extensively studied, research on UMI remains limited, and few studies have integrated both...
Planning liveable cities involves acknowledging that experiences in the public space are shaped by oppressions and privileges, such as those associated with gender and sexuality. By adopting a feminist and queer perspective, we investigate how sexual diversity affects mobility and, consequently, the access to the city and the well-being of LGBTIQ+ people. Central to this work is the...
Streets are one of the important public spaces of daily life (Jacobs, 1961). Visual quality is an important factor that determines the attractiveness of these spaces and represents a perceptual value that represents the visual experience resulting from street views (Qi et al., 2023). In urban perception studies, street views provide indicators that allow spatial quality to be evaluated from a...
Cities are critical sites for developing responses to climate change. However, popular climate change solutions in the city have not been successful in radically transforming the urban system. Celebrated climate change mitigations solutions like high-tech low-carbon buildings, electro-mobility and renewable energy remain materially intensive as well as socially exclusive. Similarly, adaptation...
Over the past decades, China's rail transit systems have undergone rapid development, emerging as one of the largest networks globally in terms of operational length for both inter- and intra-city rail systems. In recent years, China has implemented policies to enhance the integration of different types of rail transit, including high-speed railway (HSR), conventional railway, inter-city...
With the rapid development of drone technology, urban low-altitude airspace planning has become an indispensable part of future urban planning. Based on the theory of re-collage city, this paper explores the collaborative development strategies for urban low-altitude airspace, ground space, and underground space, aiming to protect historical sites, promote ecological conservation, ensure...
Urban infrastructures are essential for the provision of necessary services, including utilities such as water, electrical power, social services, and recreational green spaces, all of which contribute to the operation of cities. Cities are continuous spaces of flows, flux and translocation, and function as strategic nexuses within the continuous and dynamic process of infrastructurally...
“It is impossible to build a better world if we cannot first imagine it.”
Lesley Lokko, Venice Biennale
The Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes of February 2023 in Türkiye raised numerous questions about the accountability of various domains contributing to the widespread devastation. As politics and governance, urban planning was not exempt from such criticism. Particularly during the post-disaster...
The transition to a clean energy economy necessitates securing critical minerals—such as nickel, copper, and cobalt—essential for advanced technologies and low-carbon solutions. The European Critical Raw Materials Act (2023) seeks to enhance the EU's self-sufficiency by mandating domestic sourcing of mined, processed, and recycled materials, while addressing the geopolitical challenges of...
Throughout history, as the concept and form of industry have evolved globally, the spatial configuration of industrial areas has undergone significant changes. Moreover, the approach of the industry toward humans, its modes of production, and the shaping of its spaces have transformed through mutual interactions. Industrial areas, which serve as the driving force behind urban services, the...
The pressures on globalised, tertiarised, and privatised food systems are intensifying within a context of escalating environmental, socio-economic, and political tensions as planetary boundaries are exceeded. These systems face criticism regarding environmental issues (environmental pollution, soil erosion, biodiversity collapse, deforestation), spatial concerns (increased cultivated land...
The February 2023 earthquakes devastated southeastern Türkiye, with Adıyaman and Hatay provinces suffering extensive destruction. Beyond the immediate challenges of reconstruction, the disaster underscored the need for resilience-oriented urban and regional governance systems capable of addressing long-term vulnerabilities. This research presents the **Resilient Cities and Communities (RCC)...
Increasing climate impacts motivate migration across the globe (United Nations Network on Migration 2024). Although climate-induced migration is projected to impact US communities, literature on the numbers, locational choices of the movers, and implications for receiving communities is scarce. This study, focuses on recent population mobility towards rural areas in Northeast (NE) Region in...
In recent years, several spatial scenario studies and spatial visions have been published in the Netherlands. This article provides an overview of the most significant spatial outlook studies, such as the Spatial Outlook 2023 (PBL 2023), A nature-based future for the Netherlands in 2120 (WUR 2019) and the Deltascenarios (Deltares 2024), as well as metropolitan visions for the regions of...
The ever-changing relationship between the water body and urban hinterland has been weakened by the increasing presence of industrial and port spaces in the inner-city waterfront that pushed cities away from the water and ended up as enclaved spaces in the longer term. Changing conditions in the inner-city waterfronts over the last half-century gave the possibility of re-integrating...
The Reclaiming Streets Program, led by the Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU)—a regional association representing over 190 municipalities across the Marmara region—through its Local Government Academy, is a hands-on learning initiative launched in 2022. Developed in collaboration with Superpool and the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), the program aims to transform urban streets into...
At the threshold between city and countryside, peri-urban spaces embody a complex interplay of tensions and possibilities. These territories, caught between land speculation, environmental degradation, and urban expansion, are also sites where alternative food futures are being envisioned. The case of Carpaneda, Vicenza (Italy) exemplifies this duality. Here, a grassroots movement—Assemblea...
The escalating challenges posed by resource depletion, urban sprawl, and socio-spatial fragmentation demand a rethinking of urban systems. While the circular economy (CE) has emerged as a paradigm to decouple economic growth from resource consumption, its urban applications often reduce circularity to technocratic resource management, neglecting the spatial and social intricacies of everyday...
In the context of high-density urbanization and post-pandemic mental health challenges, walkable urban spaces such as streets, plazas, and street corners are increasingly recognized as essential for physical and mental healing. However, public spaces in high-density urban areas often suffer from standardized design and fragmented functionality, limiting their ability to meet the deeper needs...
Against the backdrop of global sustainable development, China has proposed the concept of "Station-City Integration," aiming to promote the functional integration of cities and high-speed rail (HSR) hub areas, attract foot traffic, and create new urban vitality centers. As a sub-center of Shanghai, the Hongqiao Business District serves as a high-level urban public activity center.
However,...
This paper examines the evolving relationship between urban and rural territories under Turkey’s centralized governance model, focusing specifically on the case of Ayvalık and the implications of the 2012 Metropolitan Law (Law No. 6360). This legislation, which extended the jurisdiction of metropolitan municipalities to encompass rural areas, has significantly altered the socio-spatial...
Globally a desire, seemingly not unlike that of the 1980s, has taken hold to reduce red tape in government regulatory frameworks (The Economist, 2025). In some cases, such as in the UK, it is reportedly related to the desire to increase the building of new houses and related to that, make housing more affordable (Mullane, 2024). In others, such as in Argentina, it is about freeing up and...
Bruno Latour (2017) described how we are now in a new climate regime, where there is no longer a safe “home” and we are all migrants and nomads. He emphasizes the need to confront the climate crisis, even as certain political forces seek to ignore it, close borders, and maintain the status quo. Persisting with business-as-usual, as depicted in scientific graphs, leads to catastrophe.
The...
This study evaluates the implementation of resilience strategies in two urban projects in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges: the ZAC Centre-Ville and the Renaturation de l'Yerres. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, including document analysis, interviews, and qualitative assessment, the research uncovers important understandings regarding the effectiveness and limitations of these resilience...
Central Theme
How can we observe progress in the context of complex, transdisciplinary urban research projects? Each transformative urban development project is embedded in a web of global dynamics, local contexts, and multi-layered funding priorities, making impact monitoring especially challenging. To address this complexity, this contribution proposes an impact-oriented monitoring...
In the context of escalating climate change, deepening inequalities, and complex global crises, Istanbul's urban governance has sought to respond with transformative and inclusive strategies. This special session, hosted by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, will delve into the city's innovative policies and initiatives—such as Green Istanbul, Wild Istanbul, and Play Istanbul—that foster...
In recent decades, the shift from post-Keynesian nationally redistributive welfarism has increasingly taken the form of urban-centric, competitiveness-oriented forms of locational policy (Brenner, 2019). Among other effects, it has led to the gradual erosion of the meso level of territorial governance, necessitating urban authorities to assume responsibility over the broader territorial scale...
Spatial government and planning are tools for implementing and safeguarding increasingly complex and globally interconnected systems. These processes use new systems for mapping, monitoring, and communicating spatial information, which can integrate territories, cities, and societies based on scaling processes and digital innovation flows.
The increasing complexity of global emergencies...
Informal settlements are a global issue affecting many countries, including Jakarta. Ongoing urbanization and socio-economic changes have accelerated the development of these settlements in recent decades (UN Habitat, 2021; Cinnamon & Noth, 2023). Informal settlements are complex in both their composition and the social relationships within them; they are neither homogeneous nor well-organized...
Recent studies underscore a renewed trend toward the re-integration of urban-industrial spaces, particularly emphasizing manufacturing activities (Gornig & Werwatz, 2018; Park, 2023). Scholars highlight that cutting-edge digital technologies are pivotal in enhancing industrial productivity, adopting cleaner and more efficient production techniques, and ultimately fostering the re-integration...
Housing shortages are often associated with the high-demand city centres where their effects are most visible and intense. But housing shortages are regional phenomena whose effects extend far from the urban core. In this study, we explore the implications of insufficient housing completions for urban agglomerations in Europe. Our key question is: what do tight housing markets mean for...
Scholars have documented the failure of local land use planning efforts to protect industrial uses from encroachment and displacement from other uses, especially in “strong market” cities where redevelopment pressures are strong (Ferm and Jones 2017; Grodach 2022). Regional planning regimes offer the prospect of a broader vision to protect from localized land use pressures, but have been prone...
Reducing land take is indispensable for climate protection, biodiversity, flood prevention and food security. Land take – understood as the conversion of land to artificial surfaces – is a pressing issue in the peri-urban areas, where agricultural land and housing developments meet and pressure for land reallocation is particularly high. This dissertation project explores to the role of...
There is an inherent contradiction in regional planning: “never before has the necessity for effective regional governance and planning been so great” (Soja 2015, p. 379) and yet there are those who argue “regional planning as we know it is now defunct and something we need to get used to” (Harrison et al 2021, p. 6).
This paper adopts an historical perspective to understand how we arrived...
On December 5, 2022, in the Official Gazette numbered 32034 (Repeated), the "Procedures and Principles for the Production and Sharing of Geographic Data Related to Disasters and Emergencies" were published. However, the related legislation and the work under disaster risk management are still insufficient. When looking at the dominant disaster types occurring in Turkiye, we see landslides,...
Street experiments are a crucial tool in enhancing the efficiency of urban planning processes, contributing to the creation of livable and functional cities through participatory approaches. Often known as tactical urbanism, experimental urbanism, or do-it-yourself urbanism, these efforts allow for real-time testing of ideas and concepts to assess their impact on urban environments. Maltepe...
Landmarks are essential components of urban environments, serving as a city's physical and symbolic heart. They significantly influence a city's cultural character and perception on the international stage. This study explores the transformative relationship between Casablanca's historical landmarks and newly established branded structures, evaluating their impact on the city's image as...
As universities increasingly situate themselves as active agents driving changes in their urban setting and responding to climate change, their capacity to influence urban strategies, policies and community well-being also grows. At the same time, there is increased urgency to adapt the current curricula of spatial practice that equip upcoming design professionals with the skills and knowledge...
Amid escalating planetary crises, postgrowth urbanism emerges as a critical paradigm shift, challenging traditional planning models by prioritizing ecological balance, social equity, and community well-being over relentless economic expansion. This paper investigates the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage as a transformative tool for advancing sustainable urban futures. Focusing on regions...
In the last four decades and especially during the 21st century we observe a strong interest in discourses, strategies and norms regarding the form and functions of urban areas in a sustainable way (Michalina and al, 2021). Even though in documents of international organizations, such as the Agenda 2030, there is a strong commitment for the equal growth of urban areas despite their economic...
This paper critiques the colonial forms of land-use planning in Guatemalan society. Particularly, it focuses on the Municipal Development Plan oriented to Land-Use Planning (PDM-OT) required by the State of Guatemala for every town. I pay attention to the Maya Ixil city of Chajul and analyze how the PDM-OT introduces, under the principles of development, regulation, and a historical lack of...
The question of what constitutes a waterfront presents significant ambiguities in urban studies. Existing definitions often oversimplify the waterfront as either the boundary between land and water or as a narrow extension of this line, underestimating the complex reciprocity between the waterfront and the inland built environment. This reductive framing leads to fragmented terminologies and...
What does it mean to have “enough” accessibility in transport? The concept of sufficiency has been central to debates in transport justice, often framing justice as the provision of a baseline level of access necessary for individuals to reach key destinations (Geurs & Van Wee 2004, Martens 2017). However, the meaning of “enough” remains underexplored, and current sufficiency-based approaches...
Planning has a major role in shaping the imaginaries of hopeful and resilient futures. In a world increasingly defined by polycrises, planning is confronted with the urgency for transformative thinking. Despite acknowledging the need for just and sustainable futures (Elmqvist, 2018), planning visions often remain technocentric or dystopian, maintaining the myth of human-nature separation and...
The global agrifood system is one of the primary drivers of climate change, ecological disasters, and rural decline. These threats necessitate urgent action in climate change mitigation efforts, making it imperative to reconsider the role of urban planning in food provision. In the post-growth metabolism era, redefining the interconnections within the food chain—particularly between productive...
Young people use public spaces distinctively different from adults, seeking environments for social interactions, gatherings, and identity formation rather than purposeful activities. Their unique spatial use patterns - characterised by fluid group dynamics, extended stays, and spontaneous social activities - often conflict with conventional public space management. Traditional public spaces...
Background: Bulgaria has established practices in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), yet the integration of applied Health Impact Assessment (HIA) research findings is limited or absent in the practice of urban planning, governance and development. This has led to poorly informed planning and decision making in recent years. Meanwhile, keeping...
Reinventing Cities (RC) is a planning and design competition organized by the C40, a global city network of knowledge exchange and policy support for climate adaptation. RC is one of the network's operational tools, through which cities sell sites deemed under-utilized, so that projects tackling C40’s ten climate challenges can emerge. These projects must be led by interdisciplinary consortia,...
Collective domains embody the self-determination of local communities, sustaining subsistence economies integral to agrosilvopastoral systems and the governance of mountain land. Historically situated between formal and informal institutions, they have preserved socio-ecological balance in fragile yet resource-rich areas. While they are typical institutions all over the Mediterranean and...
The main reasons for natural events turning into disasters in Turkey are that most cities are located in earthquake-prone areas, the building stock in those cities is constructed in a seismically unsafe manner, urban development occurs in geologically risky areas, and the production of non-resilient structures cannot be prevented. Researchers and practitioners focusing on resilience mostly...
This article aims to contribute to the bibliographic and theoretical understanding of the development of human settlements and urban infrastructures in the post-industrial era, with a focus on the unequal distribution of essential resources such as food, water, and energy, as well as the intervention in landscapes for energy production and consumption. The primary objective is to propose...
Since 1975, Spain's population has increased by approximately 42%, rising from 34.2 to 48.6 million in 2024 (INE, 2024). However, this growth has been unevenly distributed, with rural areas experiencing significant depopulation due to economic transformations and migration to urban centres. This demographic shift highlights the phenomenon of "Empty Spain" ("España vacía") described by Del...
In the past, the construction of residential areas in China mainly met the living needs of young people. With the acceleration of the aging process in China, the degree of aging-adapted public space in residential areas is low, and the problem of mismatch between public services and real needs is serious. In this paper, we take Jinchan-Nanli in Beijing as an example, adopt the analysis...
Harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature is the core objective of social development, and the need for collaborative governance of cross-domain ecological space is becoming more and more prominent. With the deepening of urbanisation, ecological space significantly crosses multi-level administrative boundaries, which involves the synergistic application of multiple governance...
The Duku Heritage Corridor is known as “China’s Most Beautiful Highway” ,represents the the essence of the Tianshan World Heritage Scenic Byway. The 14th Five-Year cultural development Plan from China’s central government emphasizes the importance of systematically protecting and utilizing historical and cultural heritage. This policy highlights the need for holistic strategies to integrate...
In recent years, in response to global competition and the transition between old and new economic drivers within the domestic economy, the development of innovation districts has emerged as a significant strategic initiative in China. With strong government support, numerous industrial parks and new districts have begun transitioning into innovation districts, yet they continue to adopt a...
Along with rapid urbanization, China's urban and rural ecological environment is facing a great threat, especially in mountainous cities where ecological problems are already prominent. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China approved on October 16th 2022, clearly proposes to vigorously promote the construction of ecological civilization, promote green...
The concept of “environmental education”, which is considered to be an educational activity aimed at “fostering responsible environmental behavior”, originated from a conference held by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Paris in 1948. Currently, most of the environmental education is conducted in national parks, nature reserves, and other countryside environments...
With the continuous advancement of rail transit construction, the number of rail transit stations in the central areas of China's megacities has gradually increased, forming TOD station clusters with overlapping influence ranges, which enhances the competition and collaboration effects among stations. However, current TOD research primarily focuses on spatial development patterns from a...
Under the background of urban renewal, the research and renovation of existing residential historical and cultural districts in China mainly focus on the overall protection of historical features, the inheritance of architectural symbols and street patterns, and the improvement of functions. At present, the research on the morphological factors and energy consumption of districts and buildings...
In recent years, the escalating threats of urban public crises and natural disasters have significantly increased the risks associated with urban development. The strategic utilization of limited urban land and the meticulous planning of disaster-resistant infrastructure to achieve a "dual-use for emergency" approach are imperative for enhancing a city's resilience against natural disasters...
As the country with the largest elderly population in the world, China’s aging issue arises from its unique historical, cultural, and social context, making it both distinctive and complex. The hutong bungalow community is a traditional residential form in Beijing, home to a significant number of elderly residents. In contrast to modern communities, these older neighborhoods were constructed...
The preservation and revitalization of heritage districts within the context of urban regeneration and cultural economic development have garnered increasing attention. For residential historic districts characterized by complex social fabrics and relatively scant economic resources, the emphasis lies in maintaining the authenticity of daily life, where autonomous participation from community...
The immersive tourism model represented by City Walk is reshaping the spatial narrative logic of historic districts. While this pedestrian-centric spatial practice enhances visitors' deep perception of historical layering in urban spaces, it also risks homogenizing commercial formats and fragmenting the historical-cultural environment. In high-density, multi-ethnic historic districts like...
Chinese traditional villages serve as crucial carriers for rural revitalization and cultural heritage preservation, with their tourism-driven revitalization emerging as a key approach to achieving regional sustainable development and safeguarding historical culture. The morphology and organization of street spaces in these villages not only embody rich regional cultural characteristics but...
Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing countries in terms of economic development and urbanization processes in the African region. The rapid urban expansion and substantial increase in the number of new towns indicate the reality of Ethiopia's new city growth. These new cities are highly correlated with a series of national strategies such as industrialization, privatization reforms, and open...
Qinghai province, located in the west of China, is the birthplace of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. With a rich river system in the provincial space, it is an important ecological barrier in China, and undertakes the important missions and tasks of water conservation, species diversity, and soil and water conservation.At present, relevant studies and practices at home and abroad...
The quality of urban public service facilities is of utmost importance for the quality of citizens' social life and the economic development of Shanghai. However, most existing research has been centered on the layout and accessibility analysis of a single type of facility, lacking a comprehensive exploration of the overall equity of various convenience and public service facilities within the...
With the development of the global economy, the tourism industry has ushered in new development opportunities, and governments have increased their support for the tourism industry and promoted the integration and development of tourism resources. In the new period, the expansion of the railway network has provided a solid foundation for the integration of railway and tourism, and the...
As an important supply strategic position during the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, Hadapu Town has obvious red cultural characteristics, and its red cultural tourism development has a certain source of customers. However, since the red cultural tourism in the town is still in its early stages, in view of a series of problems such as unreasonable industrial...
With the increasing severity of aging issues, the demand of the elderly for a better quality of life has been growing. However, the needs of the elderly in urban areas have not received sufficient attention. Old communities, as places where elderly people gather, are facing the challenge of outdated conditions that fail to meet the needs of their residents. In the context of urban...
Small and medium-sized towns and cities represent the very important elements of the polycentric urban structure of the European Union. They have a crucial role in regional economic development and social well-being while providing jobs and sustaining local and regional services. Those entities have the possibility to offer good living and working conditions, helping the local community to...
Historical buildings, as "non-renewable resources" in cities, offer a multitude of benefits in terms of economy, socio-culture, and environment through their conservation and adaptive reuse. However, the central districts of high-density cities often face the challenge of land scarcity, with Hong Kong being a quintessential example of such cities. The preservation and revitalization of...
As the most developed urban agglomeration in China, the core area of the Yangtze River Delta has an overall urban - rural integration level far exceeding that of other urban agglomerations in the country and is the most urbanized one. Traditionally, people have often focused on the accessibility of public service facilities in urban areas, while paying less attention to that in rural areas. As...
Human-Habitat World Heritage① (Shi et al., 2024) represents a typical example of settlement-type heritage, including villages and towns. It possesses a narrative ability that expresses temporality, as well as dual attributes of "heritage" and "life" and dual characteristics of "wholeness" and "dynamics" (Shao Yong et al., 2016). Its connotations and values are reflected in both material...
With the intensification of global climate change and energy crises, green and low-carbon development has become a core objective of urban planning. As a critical component of urban green transportation systems, slow traffic networks can not only reduce carbon emissions but also enhance residents' quality of life and travel experience.
The spatial structure of all landscapes is composed of...
This study examines how innovative pedagogical practices can equip future generations with the skills and knowledge necessary to address the socio-economic and environmental challenges of our time. In line with the AESOP Track 8 "Education and Skills," this research integrates experiential learning and transformative teaching methodologies to foster critical and creative capacities in...
In Metropolitan areas, the demand for high-frequency and high-time-value travel between megacity and its surrounding cities is continuously growing. In 2023, the commuting scale between Shanghai and its neighboring cities reached 155,000 people, with a growth rate exceeding 60% over five years. Due to its geographical location and economic industrial advantages, Suzhou has become the city most...
As cities face increasing land scarcity due to rapid urbanization, temporary public open spaces (TPOS) have emerged as flexible solutions to alleviate urban pressures. This study investigates the role of TPOS in high-density cities, using Hong Kong as a focal point. Through a detailed examination of three case studies, this research explores how TPOS can mitigate the societal challenges caused...
We investigate effective management strategies for public utilities to mitigate the impact of various external shocks, including disasters, pandemics and financial crises. For public utilities such as transport, energy, water supply and telecommunications, ensuring the stability of their services during emergencies is a critical issue, as their services are essential infrastructure for...
Neighborhood living rooms ('buurthuiskamers') are a distinct form of public space in urban neighborhoods in the Netherlands. As social and community spaces of meeting, encounter and connection, they play an important role in maintaining feelings of home and liveability in urban neighborhoods under austerity and neoliberal governance regimes, allowing communities to 'weave new networks of trust...
Global climate change has significantly increased the frequency of extreme weather events, with floods becoming an increasingly severe and unpredictable threat to urban areas. Consequently, flood control has emerged as a critical strategy to ensure public safety, particularly in transitional zones between urban areas and water bodies, such as waterfronts. In response, the city of Chongqing,...
Author: Maximilian Schneider M.Ed., RPTU Kaiserslautern
Abstract:
Patterns and processes of resilience and vulnerability are playing out in a complex setting of political, socioeconomical and cultural aspects, sett on differing time scales and spaces (Gothram and Campanella, 2011). Large-sclae traumas or crises like Hurricaine Katrina or unprecedented flooding of river valleys like the...
Chinese metropolises have concealed numerous conflicts during the era of rapid urbanization, highlighting an urgent necessity to resolve these issues in the context of new-type urbanization. This study focuses on a neighbourhood conflict over a road within Dingshan. Residents of a gated community consider this road to be their internal segment and intend to erect a gate to restrict access....
The Alpine region, as confirmed by data and statistics, is among the most frequented destinations in Italy and worldwide. As a territory at the brink of a critical threshold, it currently faces significant challenges related to tourism, particularly in the shadow of climate instability and unsustainable visitor influx. Overtourism, understood as the excessive pressure exerted by tourist flows...
Population growth and the related demand for housing have been fostering a significant urbanisation process since the end of the Second World War. Urbanisation is one of the megatrends of the 21st century (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2018). Cities are conceived as the main centres of wealth, characterised by high concentrations of technology, capital and labour,...
Haoyue Zhu, Jie Yin*
Abstract：
The rapid urbanization process and decreasing opportunities for human-nature interactions have intensified global concerns about mental health. While biophilic design is widely acknowledged for its potential to support psychological restoration, the dominance of vision in human perception often leads to the neglect of other sensory modalities in design,...
Research context
City-Port Areas (CPA) can be defined as multi-risk exposed environments characterized by high-complexity (Hein, 2016, 2018, 2023) and facing diverse intertwined challenges related to overlapping environmental, natural and anthropic risks. They are the first to experience the impact of climate change, being affected by resource scarcity and linear urban metabolism processes,...
As Australia’s population ages, aligning with global demographic shifts, the proportion of older adults is projected to rise significantly, increasing from 15% in 2017 to 21–23% by 2066 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018). There is increasing recognition of the needs in understanding how the built environment (including transport) can support healthy ageing and address the needs of an...
Public space and pedestrian mobility are interconnected elements that facilitate encounters, enable social interactions, and enhance the vibrancy of urban environments. This interrelation becomes particularly critical in historic towns, where the imperative to preserve cultural heritage must be harmonized with sustainable development objectives and urban functionality. As one of the...
As societies deal with increasingly turbulent urban conditions, the role of creative city policies as potential catalysts for change becomes more urgent than ever. The concept of the Creative City has become a central framework in the urban policy of developed countries (Cooper and Florida, 2005; Pratt, 2011; Landry, 2012), often positioned as a driver of economic growth, cultural vibrancy,...
Despite a growing number of urban policies promoting multi-sectoral cooperation, robust theoretical foundations on collaboration, justice, and social inclusion, and emerging co-production, co-creation, and co-design approaches, adverse global political and economic trends continue to erode democracy in urban development. This erosion manifests in poor policy implementation, the critique of...
Urban contexts today face escalating challenges, including climate change, spatial fragmentation, and growing social inequalities, which threaten their livability and resilience. Addressing these complexities demands transformative approaches that balance environmental sustainability and social equity to reimagine urban areas as cohesive, inclusive, and resilient spaces.
A sustainable future...
Approximately fifteen years after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), land use planning practices worldwide have shown limited evolution, even in regions deeply affected by austerity measures and reduced public spending. Furthermore, critical research on the interplay between crisis, austerity, and urban dynamics often neglects the domain of land use planning, leaving a gap in addressing the...
The debate on Planning Theory between Savini (2024a, 2024b) and Rydin (2024) raises critical questions regarding three key issues: how degrowth can gain political legitimacy, what role planners should assume in this process, and what practical pathways can facilitate the transition toward degrowth-oriented economies. By analyzing these perspectives and incorporating insights from studies on...
"Urban densification" is a current and controversial concept in the urban planning literature. Some studies in the literature present urban densification as an argument against the urban policies that support urban sprawl as an effective use of resources. Although urban densification may consider to provide several social, economic and environmental benefits in this sense, urban densification...
The question of how policy learning affects the localization of globally circulating policies has been central to our understanding of urban policy mobility. Within the policy mobilities literature, scholars from various disciplines, ranging from anthropology to geography and sociology to urban planning, have captured the interconnected urban processes and outcomes of global policy...
Although scientific and technological innovation has been playing a crucial role in the evolution of urban planning as a professional practice and academic discipline, an overall critical assessment of the domination of technoscientific-centrism in the field of planning theories seems missing. Whilst the literature acknowledges that both scientific inquiry and technological innovation are...
Rapid urbanization has transformed cities into vibrant yet unequal spaces, often escalating socio-spatial inequalities through commercialization, marginalization, and gentrification (Raymond et al., 2021). Marginalized communities tend to seek refuge in informal settlements like slums, squatter settlements, and urban villages, wherein exclusion manifests spatially (McCartney and Krishnamurthy,...
This study addresses the challenges of coastline development, highlighting the limitations of top-down, fragmented approaches that fail to fully integrate the diverse needs of stakeholders, with a particular focus on the prioritization of recreational spaces over the transformative potential of the sea and the underutilization of participatory processes. The coastal city of Izmir, Türkiye...
The contemporary urban paradigm is undergoing a significant shift from traditional design standards to more flexible, context-sensitive, and participatory approaches, especially in response to challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this evolving context, urban regeneration strategies necessitate a reconsideration, particularly in post-socialist cities where public spaces frequently...
As much as environmental conditions define the state of cities, cities in turn transform environmental conditions. Through this reciprocal influence, urban settlements become indistinguishable from the climates they generate. The distinction between natural and human-generated environmental conditions further sculpt climatic patterns at local and global scales, breaking down cities...
Topography is one of the most crucial elements of the natural environment that directs and affects the formation process of urban form. However, the guiding and/or limiting effect of topography in today's cities and settlements is often neglected in urban design and planning. This situation becomes a critical challenge in the era of the climate change crisis. Therefore, it is inevitable to...
Unauthorized construction and land use violations exist in every country but to very different degrees and contexts. Even the definition of what is a violation differs not only between Global South and North but also across jurisdictions in the Global North, including within EU member states. In some countries, such as Denmark and Finland, violations are rare and usually minor; whereas in...
Background Information and Relevance to the Track:
Urban planning and design processes have always incorporated the principles of healthy living and enhancing quality of life. In recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the connection between public health and urban planning has gained significant attention, complying with the Sustainable Development Goals. This has led...
Urban sprawl has long been a debated phenomenon within the context of growing cities and regions. The indicators, causes, and consequences of urban sprawl, as well as the policies developed to address sprawl development, have predominantly been discussed in the framework of growing urban areas (Couch et al., 2005). On the other hand, studies on the increasingly prominent topic of shrinking...
In recent years, human and more-than-human histories twine together in creating the Anthropocene, and scholars need to learn to notice more of the threads in these knots (Gan and Tsing, 2018). To address these unseen threads, participatory approaches involving pluriversal (Escobar, 2018) stakeholders in the planning process are crucial (Kambunga et al., 2024). Neglecting the essential role of...
This contribution explores innovative planning strategies, still largely underexplored in the Mediterranean context, aimed at rebalancing and rethinking the interactions between anthropic systems and ecological processes along the coastline. The Mediterranean coast presents a complex composition of diverse coastal typologies, characterized by varying degrees of human occupation and a wide...
The Fujian Minjiang River Estuary, situated along the eastern coast of Fuzhou City, is a mudflat wetland formed through centuries of sedimentation from the Min River Basin. This area serves as a critical node on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) for migratory birds and provides refuge for numerous endangered species. Twenty-four years ago, the reappearance of a mythical species added...
Urban areas play a pivotal role in shaping global social, ecological, and economic trends, yet the continuous drive for growth often results in residual, blight, leftover, and neglected spaces in various typologies. Such spaces include old industrial areas, abandoned infrastructures, vacant parcels, wild spaces, and interstitial landscapes like undeveloped land or meadows (Cariello, Ferorelli,...
Across Europe, inner peripheries (ESPON, 2017) are increasingly struggling with marginalization shaped by spatial, socio-economic, political, and symbolic dynamics (Schmidt, 1998; Kühn, 2015; Rodriguez-Pose, 2018). From a cultural perspective, marginalization manifests itself as geographical isolation, characterized by a limited access to cultural resources, centers, and infrastructure, such...
Comparative research is a social science methodology that entails comparing two or more cases, phenomena, or entities to discern their similarities, differences, and patterns. Comparative research is important for advancing the knowledge for urban sustainability transformations by highlighting diverse practices, policies and challenges for achieving transformations. However, comparative...
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the significance of urban green spaces as potential isolation facilities in the prevention of infectious diseases. Consequently, exposure to green spaces has rapidly emerged as a research subject that necessitates evaluation of its impact on human health. Exposure to green spaces can indirectly foster interaction between individuals and the ecological...
Cities today are shaped by a dynamic interplay of population growth, diverse services, and digital connectivity. As remote working and online interactions continue to expand (Moreno et al., 2021), scholars and practitioners alike have intensified their focus on multi-dimensional density—encompassing physical, social, and functional aspects—and its impact on accessibility, productivity, and...
In planning as a professional discipline, the term ‘planning’ in Planning Theory carries a dual meaning – planning as a field of study and planning as a professional activity. In terms of planning as a field of study, the project of planning theory has made substantial progress, having developed an extremely diverse range of theories that interpret and evaluate planning as a phenomenon....
The discussion on “territorial governance” has gained traction in the last decade, and it has been relaunched recently as a consequence of the problems created for institutions by the Covid-19 pandemic. The issue of territorial governance is particularly important because it invites us to revisit certain traditional ideas concerning institutions, their tasks, and the scale and level of...
The historical archives of the Royal Town Planning Institute recently digitised by the Hathi Trust cover the period from establishing the Institute through to the 1990’s, and offer a rich record of activities undertaken within planning practice from 1914-1993. In this paper I discuss my findings based on a purposive qualitative review of these archives relating to planning education, focusing...
This contribution is derived from my broader doctoral thesis on "Urban Food Policies" developed within the context of Turin, Italy, where the local food system and its emerging food policy are investigated using a City-Region Food System (CRFS) approach. The focus of this presentation is the effort, conducted in collaboration with colleagues involved in several projects within the Turin Food...
The Chinese “Eight Scenes” is the world’s first institutional system for landscape formalization, which refers to the selection and promotion of the most representative eight of the many landscapes in a certain county for the recognition of the top authorities. This institutional system originated in the ancient China 420 A.D. and declined until the mid-to-late Qing dynasty, because of social...
In recent decades, minor historic centers in Lazio, a region in central Italy, have faced significant economic and social decline. Studies indicate that over 40% of these centers have experienced population decreases exceeding 30%, with nearly 50% of local commercial activities abandoned in certain areas (ISTAT, 2021). These trends, driven by suburban settlement preferences and the...
Amid globalization and industrial transformation, large cities have attracted substantial population inflows and industrial resources, resulting in industrial decline and population loss in small cities, thereby contracting their land markets. This trend is especially evident in China, where many small cities, following a phase of rapid urbanization, have experienced pronounced shrinkage due...
In the context of China’s rural revitalization strategy, rural governance faces significant challenges, including insufficient public participation, lack of professional expertise, and a limited variety of participation methods. Additionally, rural areas suffer from depopulation as young people migrate to cities or abroad, further exacerbating the disconnect between rural communities and their...
Among Italy’s many "middle lands," the Po Valley’s lower plains (Bassa Padana) remain one of the least studied. This area, stretching across Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto, has long been perceived as marginal and economically depressed. However, recent years have seen profound transformations reshaping its spatial structure, socioeconomic fabric, and collective identity.
The Bassa...
As cities worldwide grapple with the pressures of rapid urbanization and cultural heritage preservation, Ramallah’s case study offers a compelling case to understand these challenges within the context of geopolitically constrained urban landscapes. While cities like Jerusalem, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Hebron hold rich cultural heritage and thus significance in the Palestinian context,...
The proposed paper examines the concept of "living heritage" in the context of post-disaster planning and reconstruction, focusing on practice-based research conducted by the authors in collaboration with Architecture Sans Frontières UK (Architecture Without Borders) and local partners in the area of Antakya, Türkiye, following the devastating earthquakes that struck the region in February...
Right-wing politics are on the rise globally, with politicians increasingly promoting nativism and anti-immigrant rhetoric combined with neoliberal policies. While many theorists might expect marginalized urban populations to turn to leftist politics to improve their living conditions, these groups often align with right-wing movements. Rather than dismissing such choices as misguided, our...
This study offers a novel perspective on how market-intelligence channels shape property markets and influence alliances between public and private actors in urban governance. I argue that property actors, particularly investors, form knowledge coalitions through these channels, not only to navigate markets but also to shape regulatory frameworks in urban development. Adopting a...
The escalating planetary crises, including climate change, rapid urbanization, and social inequality, underscore the urgent need for transformative actions in urban planning. To address these global challenges, the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge co- production and cross-sectoral partnerships to create innovative solutions tailored to the diverse needs of communities is...
The mid-sized city of Çanakkale is defined by its dependence on surrounding natural and rural landscapes, with rural-based production playing a key role in the livelihoods of nearby communities. However, since the 2000s, urban expansion has led to significant transformations in rural spaces and their production dynamics. As the city grows toward neighboring rural settlements, including...
Rural development, aimed at reducing the disparities between urban and rural areas, remains a significant global challenge under climate change, land conflicts, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. UN-Habitat has proposed enhancing urban-rural linkages as a means to address this issue. In China, rural revitalization has been promoted as a national strategy through enhancing the flow...
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped urban and rural dynamics, challenging the conventional urban growth paradigm and accelerating counter-urbanization. This shift has profound implications for postgrowth urbanism, which advocates for an alternative to growth-driven urban development, emphasizing ecological balance, sustainability, and social equity. Counter-urbanization, initially...
The rise in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and pollution since the 1960s is causing a global climate crisis. Some parts of the world have stepped up their efforts to transition from carbon-based to renewable energy sources in the last decade(s). While the use of renewable energy sources is increasing, GHG emissions are reaching record highs with no evidence that they have peaked....
Education is critical for understanding urban and social inequalities in Turkey. The Turkish Statistical Institute's annual report on education expenditure and poverty highlights a significant disparity: individuals in the highest income bracket spend nearly ten times more on education than those in the lowest. The statistics reveal a striking correlation between education and poverty rates;...
In Turkiye, cities typically pursue growth-oriented visions spurred by economic expansion and a focus on construction. Conversely, smaller cities facing difficulties in meeting these criteria experience setbacks like population decline and a decrease in quality of life stemming from economic contraction (Arslan et. al, 2016). To address these challenges, adopting new planning concepts creates...
Intra-regional unevenness has become a bottleneck to the vision of regional sustainability. In response, a variety of governance tools have been adopted to rebalance the relations between regional core cities, which face an over-concentration of population and industry resulting in severe socio-economic development pressures, and secondary cities, which are smaller-sized and less valued in the...
‘We only see what we look at’ (Berger, 1972 p8)
In his classic work, Ways of Seeing, John Berger (1972), drawing on the work of Walter Benjamin, questions how modern reproductions of art and images have changed their power and our relationships with meaning. He argues for the primacy of sight over language in the knowing of the world, but because the meanings of what we see are so regulated...
In response to the global trend of transitioning from carbon reduction to achieving net-zero emissions, the transformation of energy systems must simultaneously address challenges across social, economic, technological, and environmental dimensions. European countries have realised that relying solely on individual buildings, such as Zero Energy Building (ZEB) and Net Zero Energy Building (Net...
The contribution presents partial findings from the work carried out by the authors within the ongoing PRIN (Research Project of Significant National Interest) PNRR project “Bioregional planning tools to co-design life places. Empowering local communities to manage and protect natural resources”, in particular with regard to the denotation of experiences of territorial governance that extend...
While the role of urban greening as driver of gentrification in cities worldwide has been researched extensively, recent studies have pointed towards a more complex and ambivalent relationship between greening and gentrification (Quinton et al., 2024; Reibel et al., 2023; Rigolon and Collins, 2023). Empirical evidence has suggested that greening can sometimes be a consequence of...
Recently, a rich literature on urban experimentation has emerged promising it as a feature to address different agendas: it is seen as a relevant, inclusive, practical and challenging initiative that promotes system innovation and initiates structural change; a central concept in the literature on sustainability transitions; a way to foster social learning in a context of uncertainty and...
The rapid urbanisation with its plethora of complex problems ranging from population growth and climate change to social inequalities and resource consumption call for urgent need to look for solutions that can help towards efficient decision-making. Researchers are thus looking for new and dynamic sources of urban data that can help retrofit the traditional planning methodologies.
Open urban...
Adriatic cities face critical environmental and spatial challenges, mainly urban heat islands, flood risks and pollution, driven by urbanization and climate change. Green Infrastructure (GI) delivers critical ecosystem services to mitigate these issues. However, the planning and implementation of GI in the region often lack coherence, resulting in fragmented and suboptimal outcomes. To address...
Accessibility in cities plays a crucial role in social integration and quality of life (Grisé et al., 2019; Kenyon et al., 2002; Silva et al., 2023). It determines opportunities for participation in daily life, particularly for vulnerable groups, and enhances urban resilience by ensuring reliable access to transport and services. The ability of cities to withstand crises and change is linked...
This study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into multi-stakeholder negotiations within the context of sustainable critical metals and minerals development. Through the development and testing of the "AI Stakeholder Negotiation Platform," a web-based simulation game, the research examines AI's capacity to facilitate consensus-building, balance trade-offs, and address...
Population ageing is one of the major challenges facing cities today. As life expectancy continues to rise faster than healthy life expectancy, it poses challenges for the built environment in supporting older adults' lives. Driven by the growing importance of social ecological and gerontological theories on how the environments significantly influence older adults’ health, mobility, and...
This paper explores the evolving role of narratives in transformative urban planning, drawing upon interdisciplinary practices and collaborative methodologies. It reflects on innovative frameworks and participatory approaches contributing to equitable and just urban futures.
Interdisciplinary practices that bridge architecture, urban design, history and landscape with participatory...
Livable cities, responding the needs of their citizens, should encourage social interaction, and consider environmental sustainability. In this context, walkability plays a critical role in the design of livable cities. While walkability refers to the physical, social and environmental features that enable pedestrian mobility and increase accessibility in cities, urban design includes spatial...
Daily mobility patterns vary across regions but share key similarities, shaped by spatial, social, economic, and cultural factors. Mobility can be seen as a “culture” in itself, and in Europe, this culture is currently undergoing significant evolution. The Horizon 2020 project REBALANCE, involving six participants from six European countries until 2022, sought to explore the values and culture...
Promoting healthy living environments necessarily passes through awareness that the determinants of health lie mainly outside the control of the public health sectors. Healthy living is the result of several factors that may produce health inequalities across socio-economic groups. As shown by WHO and other organizations, inequalities should be reduced for equity reasons and for sustainable...
The importance of temporality, flexible adaptation and resilience in response to changing requirements within the built environment has never been greater. A cumulation of crises around changes in geopolitics, economic austerity and perhaps most significantly, the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have given rise to changing demands for temporary, ad hoc, DIY, and occasional urban space...
Shkoder holds a unique place in the history of photography, being one of the first cities in the world to capture a photograph using the Lumière brothers' technique just 20 years after its invention. With a rich tradition of visual storytelling, nowadays the city boasts a treasure trove of 800,000 photos, reflecting its cultural landscape and serving as a testament to its vibrant history and...
Current regulations on short-term rental accommodation (STRA) are rooted in traditional concepts of long-term tenancy and ownership. The EU legal framework, shaped by competition law and common market principles, safeguards the platform economies' fundamental freedom to provide services within the Union (Article 56 TFUE). However, these provisions frequently clash with local policies aiming at...
The purpose of this article is to examine the importance of 4IR interventions in providing smart services. The importance of talent management is emphasised, with the caveat that the 4IR tools and applications might stay theoretical and abstract in the absence of sufficient competencies. As its focal point, the study examines these elements in the municipal setting of South Africa. The...
Dealing with the heritage of the Manhattan Project does not simply mean expressing one’s position as being against or in favor of nuclear weapons or nuclear energy for civil use. Either we like it or not, and whether we accept it or not, the Trinity test held on July 16, 1945, ushered humankind into a new era.
This proposal focuses on three sites – the Niagara Falls Storage Site, NY, the...
Infrastructure networks face significant challenges due to climate change (Tavasszy et al., 2016). Road networks, in particular, are vulnerable to extreme weather events, potentially leading to disruptions such as flooding or subsidence, especially when multiple climate drivers interact and amplify each other (KNMI, 2023). Despite road infrastructure being recognized as critical infrastructure...
The intensifying global warming, coupled with urban heat island phenomena, have brought a wide range of health issues related to humid heat exposure, particularly in densely populated urban areas of tropical and subtropical regions (Zhang et al., 2023). Our prior research has demonstrated that humid heat exposure significantly jeopardizes adolescents’ sleep health, with wet bulb temperatures...
Mountain areas represent a key domain where scientific literature recognizes emerging cultural and settlement trends that attribute centrality to mountains as privileged sites for experimenting with alternative lifestyles, in contrast to those commonly characterizing lowland urban contexts (Dematteis, 2020). Moreover, at the European level, mountains have been acknowledged for their economic,...
The limited attention of public policies and local administrations to risk management, combined with the lack of awareness among civil society, has led major international organizations to recommend innovative and effective communication strategies to engage communities in the critical issues shaping our cities, in order to encourage interest in the spaces we live in every day and to promote a...
Xi'an, a modern city that gradually developed around the ancient Sui and Tang capitals, is surrounded by numerous imperial tomb sites located on its outskirts. These tombs, known for their intact layouts and grand scale, were once situated far from the urban center. However, as China rapidly urbanizes, the expansion of Xi'an has now reached the vicinity of these monumental tomb sites. Once...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, small towns have complained less about massive problems of sudden inner-city desolation. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that the inner cities and location-based retail had already experienced severe problems in previous years due to the growth in online retail, and on the other hand, the short (communication) distances proved to be very helpful. The...
One of the central tasks of city public spaces is to provide settings for unplanned social encounters and interactions (Mehta, 2013). Access to interpersonal participation and encounters in public spaces affects citizens’ well-being (Toolis, 2017). Stevens notes, “It is in public open spaces that people are best able and most likely to engage with the social diversity gathered together in...
Since the beginning of the 21st century the world has witnessed numerous global and local events that have led humanity back to hoping for more just and peaceful futures. Urban planning systems hold the potential to support such hope, with the anticipation of transforming lives, and the willingness to act towards realising such future visions. Particularly public spaces have a distinctive role...
Today, all over the world many cities are applying smart solutions, and position themselves as Smart Cities, but how are Smart Cities conceptualized in different planning cultures? Spatial planning systems are based upon different institutional and cultural conditions. While these may present comparable features, these planning systems were designed to operate in distinct cultural, normative...
In recent years, the concept and vision of Smart Cities have been widely embraced in policymaking and urban planning worldwide, projecting ambitious urban futures for contemporary cities. The aim of this study is to explore the nature of the socio-technical-spatial imaginaries surrounding smart city initiatives by critically examining the historical trajectories of information and...
The issue of healthcare has become a more important topic for spatial sciences and spatial planning in recent years, not only due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also due to an increasing shortage of skilled labour. In addition to various approaches to preventive health protection and health promotion, it is also increasingly about ensuring equal living conditions and basic outpatient care for...
As carbon capture and storage (CCS) emerges as a key strategy to mitigate climate change, CO2 pipeline networks are expanding rapidly across the United States. However, the construction and operation of these pipelines pose significant environmental, social, and economic challenges, particularly in rural and agricultural regions. This study examines the social and environmental impacts of a...
The intersection of cultural heritage and urban regeneration provides fertile ground for reimagining the sustainable future of cities. Within this dynamic field, social entrepreneurs have emerged as pivotal agents of change, driving innovative and community-centered approaches to revitalizing heritage assets (Scaffidi, Micelli, Nash; 2024).
While the state of the art in social...
This article explores the social impacts of public housing redevelopment through how its outcomes reshape public tenants’ experiences of citizenship in Hong Kong. As the outcome of the redevelopment, public tenants’ habitats are transformed by demolishing old structures of buildings and neighbourhood layouts and then building new ones; in some cases, residents’ composition is also changed to...
Across diverse sized cities in England, School Zones are a new way to plan for districts centred on securing the next generation’s well-being in disadvantaged areas. This paper teases out lessons for repopulation from social infrastructures, which is demonstrated by such zones around public educational facilities in England. The paper builds on a recent study of ‘School Superzones’ in London...
The first decade of the new millennium was a time when the dynamic development of digital technologies continued. It was also a time when the largest services, today called social media, were created. No one today denies that these services have a huge impact on our lives in every aspect. However, this was not so obvious 16 years ago.
The subject of this paper is the presidential campaign of...
Although the right to housing has been part of the Spanish Constitution since 1976, over 1 million families have been evicted from their homes since Spain's property market crashed in 2008. Face of the housing emergency and the political inaction, in 2009 a social movement emerge, The Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) and in 2017 the tenants' union, both with the aim to stop the...
Addressing climate governance in Brazil presents a significant challenge due to institutional and political barriers that hinder the implementation of adaptation projects. These challenges include a lack of institutional capacity at the local level and difficulties in integrating sectoral policies. In the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area (RJMA), which comprises 22 municipalities, only two have...
This study explores the interactions between land policy and the social network of farmland markets and inform the design of future land policies in Scotland and Japan where dynamic land pattern changes can be observed (Hashiguchi, 2014; Combe et al., 2020). Specifically, it aims to understand how social networks and government institutions work in the market, based on the theoretical...
This study subjects the appropriation practices of informal street vendors and performers (ISVP) who take part in the routine of urban life within the context of territorialization in public space. Beyond the realm of urban management, the appropriation practices of ISVP hold importance in challenging and reshaping existing socio-spatial systems. Multiple factors shape such practices,...
Urban green spaces, as sites of hope and aspiration, contribute to collective well-being, support ecological balance and biodiversity, and physical and mental health, social cohesion, and environmental justice (Chiesura, 2004; Kabisch et al., 2017). However, their uneven spatial distribution creates socio-spatial inequalities, negatively affecting disadvantaged communities and lowering overall...
Almost every region faces some significant threats (natural hazards, like floods, fires, droughts, etc. or human-made risks, like poverty, unmanageable and/or unpredicted population changes, social unrest, wars, etc., just to name a few). Every one of them needs different strategies to address these challenges. Also, it is important to examine if communities and people are able and capable of...
The convergence of global crises— e.g. climate change, socio-economic inequities—has highlighted the urgent need for transformative spatial planning that addresses deep-seated inequalities. In this context, social housing offers a critical lens through which to analyse the interplay between space, society, and policy. This paper examines the socio-spatial transformations of social housing in...
Urban mobility significantly shapes accessibility, equity, and social interaction in cities. While commuting patterns have been extensively studied, non-commuting mobility—such as travel for leisure, shopping, and social visits—remains underexplored despite its critical role in urban vibrancy and socioeconomic well-being. Socioeconomic status, including income, age, and gender, influences how...
The establishment of logistics platforms in medium-to-small-sized municipalities has increasingly contributed to soil consumption, significantly impacting northern Italy in recent years and generating notable side effects. This issue is particularly evident in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, which hosts a cross-border logistics network of major European significance, known as the...
Some historical and cultural cities are facing the dilemma of systemic decline. The spatial protection model that ignores the development needs of the Aborigines has led to a decline in the cultural life of the community and the internal production industry. It damages the sustainable inheritance of famous cities. It is necessary to study the path of promoting the protection and development of...
The challenges of urban environments in the Global South are numerous, interlinked, and complex. They include rapid growth, limited resources, poverty and informality, migration, displacement, social exclusion, war and climate change. Moreover, societies globally are undergoing transitions, yet they occur in shorter time spans in the Global South: rural to urban migration, navigating pathways...
Public engagement is readily placed in defacto and binary categories of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ practice. At its best, scholarship demonstrates the major benefits of resilience and wellbeing enacted through procedural justice, inclusion and placemaking. More commonly however, practice is dismissed as performative and a tick box exercise, highlighting schisms in practice and rhetoric and is one way....
Population and construction land are the two most critical elements in the urbanization process. Their coordinated development is vital to the level and quality of urbanization. Studying the changes in population and construction land during urbanization is conducive to promoting the rational use of resources and sustainable development. With the increasing domestic and global macroeconomic...
In the context of multiple and overlapping crises at a global level (e.g., ecological and climate change, socioeconomic crises, pandemics, wars), urban space has emerged as a place for experimentation with processes of transformation of city models, of how to live in and move through the city. Many cities have undertaken mobility-related experiments to promote a transition that, by limiting...
This paper examines the current challenges in the spatial dimensions of our city's social construction efforts, including the low level of resource allocation efficiency, inadequate expression of urban characteristics, and shortcomings in management systems. It offers reflections on the issues and underlying causes affecting social construction in our city. Drawing on successful practices in...
The development of cities and economies in the 21st century has been discussed through creative sectors (Howkins, 2001). The Fordist mode of production, which was dominant until the 1970s, gave way to the post-Fordist mode based on flexible production and specialization. The widespread use of digital technologies and computerized production is one of the most prominent features of this new...
This research investigates the relationship between spatial identity and urban form within the context of Slovenian settlements. Focusing on the dynamic interplay between historical and contemporary urban development, the study aims to understand how evolving morphological and architectural patterns and design contribute to, and are influenced by, the nation's unique cultural identity on one...
In high-density urban centers with rail transit stations, private developers frequently adopt sunken plazas as transitional spaces connecting station halls and main buildings within their development parcels. This spatial strategy aims to enhance pedestrian experience and guide consumer flow through specific spatial configurations. These sunken plazas with public-private interface...
Spatial planning is a complex process deeply rooted in institutional contexts, playing a pivotal role in facilitating societal transitions towards sustainability. The governance structures shaping planning are influenced by a network of institutions, regulations, and procedures, which determine the decision-making processes around land-use and spatial configurations. Planning institutions are...
Spatial planning at metropolitan level is an important basis in order to make steps forward to an appropriate metropolitan governance as soft spaces, despite non-formalized metropolitan governments. That is asking for collaborative, interscalar approaches to address complex challenges,redefining governance and planning practices beyond traditional administrative boundaries. This presentation,...
In the face of escalating global crises—spanning climate change, environmental degradation, and deepening social inequalities—the limitations of traditional spatial planning models have become starkly evident. This research critically examines the evolving role of spatial planning as a transformative tool in responding to the confluence of these crises, particularly within the context of the...
The shifting focus from the development of Dutch metropolis to the Eurodelta megaregion represents a paradigm shift in spatial planning, emphasizing the need for collaborative, interscalar approaches to address complex challenges. The Eurodelta, a non-formalized metropolitan scale, offers unique opportunities for redefining governance and planning practices beyond traditional administrative...
Modern spatial planning faces increasing complexity due to the relational dynamics of the network society and the pressures of neoliberalism. Traditional top-down or bottom-up planning approaches are insufficient to address cross-sectoral challenges, as sector-specific plans often prioritise economic competitiveness over broader spatial equity. To avoid reinforcing uneven development, spatial...
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted health challenges, renewing attention to mental health issues, impacting particularly on younger generations. In the face of increasingly rapid processes of urbanization and de-urbanization though, isolation and social disconnection are emerging as a structural public health issue. The anxieties inherited from the cities of the 20th century thus add to new...
Global warming has become one of the major challenges facing the world today, and the effective control of carbon emissions as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions is particularly critical.As a major country in charge, the Chinese government proposed at the 75th United Nations General Assembly that carbon dioxide emissions should aim to peak by 2030 and strive to achieve carbon...
The frequent occurrence of extreme weather events has brought serious impacts on cities under the background of climate change. For example, the increasingly frequent typhoon will cause strong wind disaster and extreme rainstorm disaster with the characteristics of rapid change and high uncertainty. These disasters cannot be responded quickly with the traditional methods of disaster prevention...
Severe social-ecological crises on earth are intensifying, leading, among other things, to the destruction of biodiversity and habitats of all living beings. Behind these crises lies a deeply rooted anthropocentric world view, in which humans perceive themselves not only as separate from, but also as superior to the rest of nature (O'Brien et al., 2024). The same applies to urban and regional...
The role of performance indicators in planning has a long history (Clarke and Wilson 1994, Haughton 1997). This work has largely concluded that indicators introduced for planning have been either administrative in nature or “of dubious value” (Haughton, 1997, 1) as effective measures of planning performance. Nevertheless, Governments across the political spectrum, and in many parts of the...
Public spaces have always played a central role in shaping urban quality providing a range of socially valuable services. However, in an age of growing social inequalities, environmental challenges and political polarization, the question of how public spaces can foster inclusion, equity and positive change becomes more critical than ever.
Public spaces have the potential to inspire hope by...
This paper deals with the introduction of the "Sponge City Concept" as an innovative process of climate change adaptation in Berlin's water management and urban planning at large.
During the last decades, human-induced water and energy metabolisms tended to be spatially concentrated in built-up urban - industrial areas, by now housing more than 4 billion people. Taking into account the...
[Problems]
People have a desires to own coastal landscapes. The purpose of zoning is for land to be used in a way that enables all people to access coastal spaces and be safe from the impacts of climate change. According to prior studies, coasts are structurally vulnerable to flooding, and it is important to secure disaster-preventive area by zoning.
However, in many coastal cities in South...
Gentrification, a term first introduced in 1964, initially referred to the process of middle-class re-entry and transformation of working-class communities in central London (Glass, 1964). Over time, the concept has expanded beyond the return of capital to cities or the pursuit of specific lifestyle by the middle class (Zhang et al., 2014). Today, gentrification is increasingly linked to urban...
Since the 2000s, urban transformation in Istanbul has become a critical component of Turkey’s neoliberal economic program. As argued by Kuyucu and Ünsal (2010), the real estate sector has emerged as a primary driver of economic growth, fundamentally altering Istanbul’s urban fabric. The central government’s approach to urban transformation has utilized the discourse of “disaster risk” (Türkün,...
With enhanced inter-city connectivity and extended urbanization, cities were expanding beyond their traditional city limits to become global city-regions through metropolisation (Scott, 2001). It has led to the bursting open of city-region boundaries, where cities and city-regions in proximity merge into vast, complex, and often cross-border territories (Brenner, 2019). These processes pose...
The research discusses storytelling as an effective method for strategy development in hybrid landscapes. These areas often involve diverse actors, conflicting interests, and differing perspectives. By integrating narrative methods, storytelling can promote a shared understanding, strengthen strategic visions, and foster creative thinking to imagine alternative futures. It simplifies complex...
The Metropolitan Commitment 2030 is a strategic framework led by the Metropolitan Strategic Plan of Barcelona (PEMB) which aims to create a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient metropolitan region by 2030, aligning with global objectives such as the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At its core, the Commitment integrates a mission-oriented approach, which focuses on...
Strategic regional planning is driven and implemented by a network of institutional actors with diverse interests embedded in a specific institutional setting (Purkarthofer et al., 2021). This contribution examines the relationship between such planning actors and their respective institutional context, particularly regarding the impact of regulatory instruments on decision-making processes...
Following planning fragmentation and the withdrawal of state intervention, strategic spatial planning has been established since the 1990s, as a new type of comprehensive planning, based on participatory territorial governance. In the 2000s, spatial planning witnessed a neoliberal shift while the outbreak of various crises highlighted contemporary challenges that metropolitan areas are faced...
Planning and preparing for heat stress and heat waves are high-priority issues in cities across Europe and elsewhere – at least in theory, if not in practice. Efforts of dealing with heat stress and heat waves are closely related to efforts of climate change adaptation as one component of climate policy (the other component being climate change mitigation). Increasingly, researchers seek to...
In recent years, street spaces have faced governance challenges characterized by dual disorders in both physical environment and social values, with the transition from traditional "growth-oriented" to "equity-oriented" development still encountering numerous obstacles. Existing studies have lacked systematic evaluation tools and tended to emphasize physical environment improvement while...
Crises and disasters continue to pose enormous challenges to urban development strategies. To address these challenges with urban planning tools, the planning paradigm of urban resilience is increasingly discussed. Urban resilience describes the measurability of urban systems to maintain continuity across shocks and stresses, while adapting and transforming towards sustainability (Urban...
This project, conducted in 2023–2024 with funding from the Universities' Cooperation Fund, organized by the Minister of Universities, Industry, and Innovation in Iceland, focuses on strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration in planning education. The initiative examines the educational offerings and potential collaboration models among Icelandic universities—Agricultural University of...
The circular economy is increasingly recognized as an important approach for mitigating resource depletion in cities. In urban planning, Williams’s circular development framework extends this concept beyond economic processes to encompass ecological and social dimensions, highlighting three core processes: resource looping, ecological regeneration, and adaptive action (Williams, 2021)....
The benefits and burdens of large infrastructure projects are strongly variegated across society and biological species in space and time. Planning invariably involves making trade-offs and justifying them. Equity and justice have long been on planners’ agendas, but few have attempted to operationalise them into decision-support methods.
Existing (and often mandated) methods, such as...
Studentification—the social, cultural, and physical transformation of urban areas driven by the influx of student populations—presents opportunities and challenges for the cities that choose the path of student-centered urban development (Smith, 2005). The literature on studentification typically highlights how students stimulate the housing market in the neighborhoods where they cluster...
National cultural Park is the localization practice of large-scale linear heritage protection and utilization in China, and the integration of culture and tourism is an important way to activate the utilization of heritage. With rich heritage, as the Qinghai section of the Great Wall with the highest altitude in the world, it plays an important demonstration role in the integrated development...
With the gradual deepening of the protection of World heritage, the protection of intangible cultural heritage has gradually shifted from "cultural residue" to "living state" protection. The state of intangible cultural heritage development, its level, and how to evaluate the liveliness level of intangible cultural heritage are pressing issues that need to be addressed in its development....
For the last decades, the planning of our cities has been heavily centered around automobility. This focus has fostered a widespread reliance on private cars, resulting in numerous adverse consequences at both local and global scales. These include compromised safety, lowered physical and mental health, environmental damage, multi-leveled injustice, and the excessive use of space, time, and...
In recent years, the connectivity between key cities and adjacent municipalities within the Shanghai Metropolitan Area has intensified, rendering cross-regional commuting a prevalent occurrence. China has rapidly constructed Suburban Railways to satisfy the need for quick regional mobility. Unlike Japan Railways (JR) lines and Réseau Express Régional (RER) lines, China’s Suburban Railway...
In a complex natural environment, ecological adaptation and steady evolution are the basic states of rural landscape (Schouten, et.al. 2009). The construction of a rural ecological civilization system needs to be based on a rural landscape with more regional characteristics and higher construction levels. However, in the process of rapid urbanization, the phenomenon of a sharp decline in rural...
The study of spatial distribution of historical villages is the basis for understanding historical villages. This study takes historical villages in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture as the research object of spatial distribution, aiming to deeply analyze their distribution characteristics and influencing factors, and provide a scientific basis for the protection planning of historical...
Street spaces in historic districts are now facing challenges such as loss of vitality and deterioration of spatial quality. Maintaining street vitality is conducive to the sustainable development of historic districts and the revitalisation of cultural heritage in cities. Less attention has been paid to how street vitality in historic districts is affected by the preservation...
Since the 1990s, the rapid development of China’s market economy and the emergence of mass society have profoundly transformed the character of urban public spaces. During this process, consumerist culture has gradually taken a dominant role, reshaping daily lifestyles and deeply influencing public imagination and spatial organization in cities. As consumer demand continues to rise and market...
In the Shaanxi North region of China, the unique loess terrain and crisscrossing gullies have fostered a deep emotional connection between its inhabitants and the land, a phenomenon known as topophilia, which refers to the strong bond people share with their environment[1]. However, the rapid urbanization of this area has challenged traditional construction models and conventional spatial...
It has been about 20 years since the Urban Renewal Special Measures Act came into force in June 2002. Under this Urban Renewal Special Measures Act, Urban Renewal Special Districts are a planning consultation-type deregulation method that allows deregulation of floor area ratios, etc., in urban development projects within urban regeneration emergency development areas, depending on the...
With the rapid progress of urbanization in China, the demand for urban public spaces has grown significantly. However, many public spaces lack the vitality needed to meet the diverse needs of residents. Enhancing public space vitality is crucial for optimizing relationships between people and between people and spaces. Establishing a scientific quantitative assessment framework and indicator...
Public spaces are often conceptualized through notions of accessibility, continuity, and structured use. However, the dynamics of urban life are equally shaped by interruptions, unexpected encounters, and shifts in rhythm. This paper examines passageways as a spatial and social phenomenon that disrupts urban continuity, generating alternative public interactions and micro-transformations in...
In light of global ambitions to reduce land take and the need for housing, densification has become a prominent policy goal for urban development in many countries. While densification has been widely discussed in academia for the inner-urban realm, suburban areas have huge potential but are yet understudied. Densification of suburban areas, however, is from a spatial planning perspective much...
In recent years, alongside globalization, the population has been rapidly increasing and cities have been evolving accordingly. This phenomenon has led to urban expansion and intensified pressures on urban areas. As cities expand towards the suburbs, examining suburban areas has become more important for the future of cities. Suburbs are generally consumerist, residential settlements where the...
Planetary crises of climate change, environmental degradation, and socio-economic inequalities are being accelerated by urbanisation patterns prioritising economic growth over ecological sustainability and social justice. A prominent example of such a phenomenon in the Czech Republic (and the whole Central Europe region) is suburbanisation, a long-ignored problem attributed to the idea of...
This study investigates how policymakers evaluate the success of inclusive city policies, which aim to reduce urban disparities and foster equal opportunities across social, economic, spatial, environmental, and political dimensions. Despite their widespread adoption, many initiatives fall short of bridging the gap between ambitious goals and tangible outcomes. For instance, the Safer Cities...
As in previous waves of public interest litigation (Morris 2016), plaintiff cities are turning to the courts in their efforts to seek climate justice against more powerful opponents. But can, and are, cities leading the way on climate justice? Here we analyse plaintiff city litigation with a climate-relevant purpose – what we call ‘city climate litigation’ – as the latest incarnation of an old...
This study investigates whether the implementation of superblocks in Barcelona—a high-profile urban intervention aimed at improving environmental and social quality—has triggered an electoral backlash against the ruling party responsible for the intervention. Superblocks were progressively implemented between 2015 and 2019, with additional expansions in subsequent years, allowing us to test...
Existing planning support systems (PSS) have yet to fully address the challenge of integrating land use and transport (LUT) planning through collaborative scenario-building (te Brömmelstroet & Bertolini, 2008, 2010). Despite their potential, most PSS suffer from critical limitations, including insufficient LUT integration, lack of collaborative features, reliance on technical expertise, and an...
Nowadays effective systems for monitoring, reporting, and evaluation appears to be relevant for governments to enhance urban-level decision-making. Indeed, monitoring the areas, plans and projects implemented in the urban environment and evaluating projects before their implementation turns out to be crucial practices for making informed decisions and supporting sustainable transitions in...
Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) refers to a methodology whereby students are invited to apply their knowledge and skills to address real-world problems. In planning education, this methodology has been adopted to several challenges such as urban sustainability transitions. In higher education institutes CBL is seen as a methodology that can facilitate student's critical thinking, generic and...
Mounting evidence of climate-related impacts—such as intensifying heatwaves, flooding, and resource shortages—makes urban adaptation an urgent priority. Yet effectively addressing these interlinked environmental and social challenges requires innovative forms of knowledge production and decision-making. Central to such efforts is the active engagement of non-academic stakeholders, who bring...
The critical role of cities in addressing the global climate crisis is increasingly acknowledged. The European Union (EU), one of the most urbanized regions globally, has placed urban issues at the core of its political agenda, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as evidenced by numerous measures aimed at fostering sustainable development, such as the Leipzig charter...
The mobility crisis highlights the need to transition toward environmentally sustainable and socially equitable transportation systems. Over the past century, car-centric environments (Urry, 2004) perpetuated the illusion of accessibility while contributing to urban sprawl, resource consumption, and soil depletion. Dependency on automobiles exacerbates pollution while widening social...
Problem Definition: The warming climate presents significant challenges to sustainable urban living, particularly regarding the use and comfort of public spaces. Urban areas face the heat island effect, intensifying thermal discomfort and driving up energy demand for cooling during heat waves. In this context, there is a critical need to explore how urban nature and open spaces can enhance...
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) are strategic planning tools designed to satisfy mobility needs in cities and their surroundings for a better quality of life. According to the European Commission, “A SUMP offers a comprehensive, vision-led, flexible and resilient approach by serving as a long-term mobility plan that includes packages of measures addressing short-term objectives and...
The global narrative towards sustainable urbanism presents unique challenges when applied to the distinct context of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regions. Here, the recent push towards sustainable development is met with critical evaluations regarding its impact and practical effectiveness (Al-Badi & AlMubarak, 2019). Gulf cities have been central to discussions on urban development,...
Several cities worldwide have adopted planning policies aimed at rethinking the role of public spaces to foster active mobility and social interaction. This trend, strengthened by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflects growing awareness of the negative externalities associated with the dominance of cars in urban environments. Through interventions that reorganize the form and use of...
The conversion of natural land into urbanized areas, commonly referred to as "land take," presents significant ecological, social, and economic challenges. While (supra)national-level regulatory reforms have received considerable attention as a strategy to curb land take, much less focus has been directed towards the local level. This is surprising, given that the responsibility for achieving...
Urban design is integral to planning education. Although its weight in planning programmes varies considerably (Frank, 2006), the knowledge and skills that planners acquire through an integrative design focus in their education are fundamental to addressing the complex challenges of cities. However, teaching design to planners poses a variety of challenges. Senbel (2012, p. 449) identifies ...
In response to the practice of using the simulation of natural forms, such as animals, as training content in three-dimensional composition courses for some art and design programs, as well as the misleading guidance found in certain textbooks, this paper examines the formation of the three-dimensional composition teaching system and the relationship between concepts and forms. It emphasizes...
Despite strategy papers and guidelines such as the Territorial Agenda 2030 of the European Union (2020) that define common European objectives and orientations for territorial development, planning practice among EU member states remains rather variegated. These differences become particularly apparent in cross-border spatial planning contexts when attempting to navigate the “balancing act...
Planning education as a field characterised by epistemological diversity integrates disciplines such as social sciences, engineering, architecture and natural sciences. However, in regions without dedicated planning schools—such as universities in Central America—planning is often taught as a module within undergraduate or postgraduate programs in engineering or architecture. Consequently,...
The European Union’s policy framework increasingly emphasizes the need for a Twin Transition, wherein the Green Transition converges with the Digital Transition to foster sustainable and inclusive development (EC, 2022). However, for the transition to happen, particular attention should be paid to territories where digital infrastructure gaps may impede the benefits of smart solutions (usually...
As large cities grow in size and density, they come under increasing pressure for space. Many under-viaducts spaces (UVSs) are being converted into open-air sports fields, but such spaces can cause air and noise problems for people playing sports. There is a lack of research on the pollution of the UVS. In order to finely analyse the environmental pollution in the UVS, the article takes an...
To critically reflect and theorize on politics, strategy, power, and conflict in spatial planning, more attention towards time and temporality is needed (Hutter, Wiechmann et al. 2024). Various research streams have taken up issues of temporality, for instance, research on path dependence (Sorensen 2023) based on „Historical Institutionalism (HI)“ (Mahoney et al. 2016). Our contribution aims...
Planning practice is a key issue not only to understand the deeper nature of planning system, but also to defend good planning (Parker and Maidment, 2024). It is formulated by the blurring borders of formal paths – that are related to laws, rules and open democratic processes- and informal mechanisms, which include shadow processes of influence, negotiations and communicative power. Planning...
Spatial planning, understood as “measures [taken] to develop models of a desirable, ideal state of the space and to create the conditions for its realization” (Turowski, 2005, p. 894) traditionally stops at the national border, its scope of action and the competences of spatial planners are legally bound to a nation state and its planning system. However, more and more cross-border functional...
In our changing world, cities, regions and territories are vulnerable and increasingly exposed to rapid and slow on-setting disasters and events: environmental and climate changes, economic and financial crises, social inequalities, and geopolitical shocks. The present age of crisis raises new challenges for territorial policy-making, positioning resilience as an increasingly crucial objective...
This contribution stems from a collaboration in academic research, focusing on the potentialities and contradictions of governance frameworks and planning strategies in shaping the ecological and digital transitions driven by the current European Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP). The study is conducted through a research-by-design approach that led us to adopt an empirical methodology...
As artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly intersect with multi-stakeholder negotiation processes, understanding their technical reliability and ethical dimensions becomes crucial for sustainable implementation. This study, "Testing the Limits: Technical Validation of AI-Driven Negotiation Tools for Multi-Stakeholder Consensus," examines the technical capabilities of AI negotiation...
Collaborative scenario-building is a well-established methodological approach that is particularly effective for anticipating and analysing unexpected long-term futures. It enhances the legitimacy of contemporary decision-making processes by engaging the public and facilitating interactions with other stakeholders (Goodspeed, 2020). Traditionally, future scenarios are communicated through...
The concept of the 15-minute city goes back to the urbanist Carlos Moreno and by no means exclusively involves new ways of thinking and planning: A city of short distances with a social and functional mix has existed in urban planning concepts since the 1980s and still exists today (Kurth, 2021, p. 28). Moreno focuses on reducing car traffic and defined the 15-minute city in 2016, in which...
Social housing is a crucial lever for breaking the cycle of structural poverty, although its effectiveness can vary depending on the location. Nevertheless, the accessibility of social housing, essential for reducing mobility-related exclusion, is an underexplored topic and thus far, the relationship between accessibility of social housing and mobility-related social exclusion is poorly...
Land Value Capture (LVC) mechanisms, such as Section 106 agreements (S106) and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), are widely regarded as crucial tools for funding urban development by redistributing the value generated through public investments in England. While much of the existing literature has focused on the economic implications of these instruments—particularly their effects on...
The rapid development and application of artificial intelligence (AI) has radically transformed our conception of planning and what the planning profession can achieve. AI has enabled new, and in many cases more accurate, ways to make predictions, more efficient design modeling, and streamlined data gathering. When used appropriately, AI can contribute to more robust decision-making, revealing...
It is projected that between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years old will nearly double, rising from 12% to 22%. By 2030, 1 in 6 people worldwide will be aged 60 or older. Consequently, the number of people aged 60 years and over will increase from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion. By 2050, the global population of people aged 60 years and older is projected...
Agricultural product logistics has characteristics such as the decentralization of supply entities, the freshness of logistics goods, and the multi-chain nature of the circulation process. The development of an agricultural product logistics system should optimize the total logistics time, enhance the level of cold chain development, and improve the coordination among market entities. In...
This research builds on three main contexts of the recent decade. Firstly, there is a recognition that the contemporary world is becoming increasingly complex, accompanied by an overload of sensory inputs that can lead to negative consequences. Secondly, the impact of aesthetic quality on human well-being and behaviour is recognised, with many urban design agendas and guidelines outlining the...
Sustainability can be summarized as planned consumption and production that considers environmental, social, and economic factors to improve the quality of life for present and future generations. Given that it addresses issues ranging from the evaluation of underground and surface resources to waste management, this approach is highly multifaceted. The concept of sustainable development...
The significance of the relationship between property, law, and spatial planning is increasingly widely recognized (Alterman, Balla et al. 2010, Davy 2012, Blomley 2017, Dorries 2017). Yet notwithstanding the recent spread of research on ‘new municipalism’ (Ewen and Hebbert 2007, Clarke 2011, Sareen and Waagsaether 2022), there is still little planning research on the central role of municipal...
The paper proposal focuses on the peculiar case of Taranto’s Old Town which today finds itself in extremely precarious conditions in terms of both spatial and social infrastructures.
The city of Taranto (Apulia, Southern Italy) is paying the consequences of a massive process of industrialization (Italian Institute for Industrial Re-construction). Its territory is undergoing one of the deepest...
Abstract
In various European member states, there has been a call for enhancing national spatial planning (Yang et al., 2024; Breach, 2024). The housing crisis is an essential driver behind these calls (ESPON, 2024), but not the only one. Protecting essential ecosystem services, promoting renewable energy, climate adaptation and, lately, reserving space for military use have also been cited...
The circular economy (CE) has emerged as a sustainability prominent framework, garnering attention from scholars and policymakers and influencing the policies of cities and regions. However, urban and regional CE strategies tend to focus predominantly on ‘looping actions’ (see Williams, 2021), such as using waste as a resource and reducing resource consumption. This approach often neglects the...
This research seeks to develop an understanding of Baghdad's understudied role in processes of collective identity building and how different visions of citizenship have changed the face of the city. Since the establishment of the Iraqi state in 1921, the capital has been central to questions of belonging and social stability in the country. The richness of Baghdad's ethnic and sectarian...
In an age of planetary crisis, cultural landscapes are increasingly threatened by urbanization, climate change, and socio-economic inequalities. These pressures erode historical territories, calling for innovative strategies that go beyond conservation to promote resilience and adaptation. This paper explores the transformative role of archaeological landscapes in contemporary urban planning,...
Temporary urbanism in planning and governance processes has been the subject of extensive research in recent years. While temporary uses have always existed in our cities, short-term events—such as temporary construction and space usage—have increased in frequency. This phenomenon has become known as temporary urbanism (Madanipour, 2017). These practices have shifted from marginal informality...
Industrial diversification is widely acknowledged for its capacity to sustain long-term economic growth by compensating for the decline of traditional industries (Frenken & Boschma, 2007). While existing research in evolutionary economic geography primarily highlights the positive impacts of industrial diversification—such as economic growth, enhanced employment opportunities, and...
Due to the influence of social generational shifts and the specific life stage of individuals, Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) exhibits distinctive characteristics in consumption attitudes(Noor, 2017), lifestyles, and areas of interest(Lee and Eun Hak Lee, 2024). As the most dynamic and creative human capital group in modern society, Generation Z plays a pivotal role in urban...
The field of spatial planning is currently experiencing a profound shift driven by technological advancements, known as the digital transformation of planning. This transformative process has the potential to reshape the very essence of planning practice and the way it delivers fundamental values, including equity, social justice, transparency, and efficiency (Hersperger et al., 2022). Despite...
Thirty years after the release of the Nara Document on Authenticity, the concept of authenticity still faces many difficulties in its localization in China, which are manifested in three aspects: the contradiction between absolutization and relativization, materiality and spirituality, and authority and popularization. In China's historic cities, there are a large number of traditional...
This research explores how gender equality shapes economic growth in Europe by focusing on the Gender Equality Index (GEI) as a key measure. Using the E3ME econometric model, it examines how reducing the gender pay gap, encouraging women’s participation in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), and promoting equal job opportunities contribute to GDP (Gross Domestic...
The regeneration of historic industrial brownfield sites represents a critical challenge in urban planning, intersecting issues of market dynamics, heritage conservation, and public-private collaboration. This paper focuses on the role of market buoyancy in shaping public-private sector interactions during regeneration processes, emphasizing its potential influence on decision-making,...
Car-oriented planning has not only shaped the built environment but has also profoundly influenced societal norms, normalising driving as the default mode of transportation. This pervasive narrative has led to well-documented consequences: sprawling effect, landscape fragmentation caused by urban infrastructure and transport network expansions, social isolation, limited public...
Since the early-2000s there has been a growing scholarly interest in infrastructure as a social scientific object. The social, political, economic and governmental shaping of cities has been identified as occurring through infrastructure. Building on the foundation provided by socio-technical studies of infrastructure geographers and planners have developed extensive insights into how...
Food security is integral to national economic stability, livelihoods, and sustainable development, serving as a foundation for China’s modernization. The population-cultivated land-food (PCF) system is a complex, semi-open framework operating within specific geographical boundaries. It relies on cultivated land resource utilization, with food production, consumption, and distribution as core...
The increasing emphasis on participatory planning processes has highlighted the importance of communicative approaches to engage stakeholders (Hajer & Zonneveld, 2000). Within this context, planning theorists have underscored the value of storytelling, both as a tool for and an outcome of planning (see Van Hulst, 2012). This ‘narrative turn’ in spatial planning (Ameel et al., 2023) shifts...
In recent years, the concept of "sense of place" has expanded and deepened in the context of conservation and urban renewal. This concept transcends the physical connection between people and places, emphasizing subjective attitudes that encompass three core dimensions: place identity, place attachment, and place dependence. In Singapore, several early public housing estates have been...
This paper explores the evolving nature of Temporary Appropriation (TA) in Auckland’s Queen Street by employing assemblage theory. Building on the concept of TA as an emergent phenomenon within urban landscapes, this study examines two distinct periods—August 2018, before the COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent urban renovations, and August 2024. Utilising activity mapping techniques through...
High-tech development zones (HTDZs) play a critical role in driving economic growth and technological innovation, but their rapid development also poses significant challenges to regional carbon emissions. This study focuses on 168 HTDZs in China, aiming to explore the dynamic relationship between the expansion of development scales and regional carbon emissions. The research seeks to address...
Demographic change, the climate crisis, digitalisation and the change in mobility are among the topics that pose new challenges for local authorities. In particular the rural areas of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate must adapt to changing conditions and develop sustainable development paths. The aim of the research project "Kommune 2050" is to develop a data- and GIS-supported model...
While there is a growing body of scholarship elucidating the nexus between financialisation, urban governance and planning (Savini and Aalbers, 2016; Waldron, 2019), the ways the local state (and planning systems) shape the necessary legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks that enable financialisation in practice remain largely overlooked (Christophers 2015). Moreover, little attention has...
Over the past two decades, the concept of ‘financialization’ has gained prominence in urban studies, reflecting the growing influence of financial actors, practices, and instruments in shaping urban markets.
This phenomenon, as explored by scholars such as Epstein (2005), Leyshon and Thrift (2007), Krippner (2011), Gotham (2012), Christophers (2015), Raco et al. (2019), and Aalbers (2019),...
2017 had the dubious distinction of being the worst year for hurricane damage in Gulf Coast history. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate caused an estimated $290 billion in damage that year due to wind, storm surge and inland flooding. Texas and Florida combined had over 75,000 housing units damaged by the storms, Puerto Rico had an estimate 472,000 housing units damaged. There were 180...
The rapid evolution of urban built environments has significantly enhanced the mobility of people, goods, and information. The integration of social and technological systems in urban transportation has created a complex urban framework, presenting substantial challenges to mobility planning and policymaking. Among various transportation modes, buses are particularly significant due to their...
This paper is based on a compilation of findings emerging from a series of workshops conducted in Oslo’s city region and explores the conceptual framing of ‘resharing’ through residents’ and practitioners’ framing of future sharing practices, needs for material and physical access and imageries for sustainable consumption of this city region. We define ‘resharing as a set of practices where...
In recent decades, growing pressure on the planet's resources has sparked increasing concerns about sustainability and the need to mitigate the effects of human activities. To address these challenges, circular economy practices have emerged, focusing on reducing the over-exploitation of raw materials and extending the life cycle of products. The trade in second-hand clothing exemplifies this...
To cope with the multiple contemporary crises (climate, social, economic), cities have eagerly searched for governance approaches which enable an inclusive socio-ecological transformation of their built environment, economies and societies. In the scholarly and policy debate about that issue, peri-urban areas, which are certainly part of the European urban landscape, have been widely...
Since the end of World War II, green belts have been implemented in many cities worldwide. Their utility and efficacy have been highly debated for the next half-century. Despite all green belts having peculiar origins and morphological characters, commonalities can be found in how the notion of a green belt has evolved in urban design and planning history. This paper dives into the green...
“Walking is a creative act, not a going back and forth between two distances. It is both a retreat into our own solitude and a rising up that will transform us as a society” (Gros, F., 2008), which, when considered together with the city, points to the potential for people to transform the act of walking into an activity that includes other roles and layers in urban space. In 2021, with the...
Climate disruption is already affecting cultural heritage sites and anticipated climate change stressors will increasingly intensify the vulnerability of cultural landscapes (Sesana et al., 2021). This includes the impact of extreme weather events, including flooding, landslides, wildfire risks and drought, alongside longer term impacts relating to loss of landscape character due to shifting...
High-speed rail (HSR) has been identified as a crucial catalyst for urban development; however, its impact varies across cities. HSR new towns planned in proximity to the HSR stations may offer an opportunity for stimulating compact land development around the stations, although the extent to which this will occur remains uncertain. This study developed three indicators for evaluating...
Transcending the traditional focus on residential contexts, this study investigates how the socioeconomic levels of residential neighborhoods and workplaces shape individuals' perceptions of income inequality in urban settings. Using geocoded data from the 2017 Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey, we explore the interplay between structural determinism and relative deprivation mechanisms in...
According to the most recent report by the EU’s Joint Research Centre, “House prices have surged by more than 50% since 2015, and rents have risen by more than 13% across the EU”: a dramatic increase triggered by economic factors which, the study claims, include increasing land prices and speculative pricing in high-demand areas (Ozdemir & Koukoufikis 2025).
Some of these economic factors may...
This study investigates the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in enhancing sustainable urban mobility and managing tourist flows in Casablanca, a rapidly developing metropolitan area in Morocco. The research employs a quantitative approach, leveraging Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the relationships between AI system...
With advancements in information and communication technologies, the virtual world is becoming a broader expression of our personal and collective space, leading to a bidirectional formation. This situation underscores the uncertain distinction between an individual's physical presence and actions in the real world, and their digital identity (and behavior) in virtual networks. With the...
In modern Korean society, there is a growing issue of class conflict and social exclusion of certain groups, which leads to a decline in social capital and hinders social integration. In particular, residents of public housing experience discrimination due to social stigma and self-stigma. Self-stigma occurs when individuals internalize negative consequences associated with their socioeconomic...
In recent years, the ongoing phenomenon of global warming and the frequent occurrence of extreme and unusual weather events have posed significant challenges to the human living environment and public health. Among these challenges, the issue of the urban heat environment has garnered particular attention, as evidenced by the prominence of the urban heat island(UHI) effect in research and...
Public space is becoming the focus of urban studies, as it holds the influential potential to create resilient cities. This research explores the significant capability of urban growth generators to create socio-economic centralities in Large-Scale Housing's public space.
Our main objective is to understand the evolution of the socio-economic state in the public space of large housing in...
ABSTRACT
The ongoing trend since the 1980s is elucidated by scholars across several disciplines using the frameworks of globalization and neoliberalism. The field of urbanization and planning is no exception to this situation. Like many countries, after the 1980s, Turkey underwent significant socio-political changes that profoundly impacted the country's urban decisions. Structural...
This research aims to study the impacts of urban sprawl on soil resources in Tours metropolitan area and the possibility of applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce its impact. The research focuses on the long-term study of improving the urban planning, with the objective of understanding the importance role of applying Artificial Intelligence applications in reducing the major impacts...
South Korea is on the verge of becoming a super-aged society, with the elderly population (aged 65 and older) projected to exceed 20% of the total population by 2025, 30% by 2036, and 40% by 2050 (KOSTAT, 2024). This demographic shift poses significant economic challenges. Coupled with the fact that two-thirds of Korean elderly do not meet the recommended physical activity levels according to...
In the past 40 years, China's urbanization rate has increased from 18% to 66%. Cities have expanded rapidly and rural areas have collapsed rapidly. This process has caused serious damage to China's rural cultural heritage. How to rescue and protect rural cultural heritage and achieve sustainable use is an important issue in China's rural areas.
From the endogenous characteristics of Chinese...
A common debate in urban planning and urban regeneration is around the effective and speedy delivery of long-term regeneration outcomes. Time-limited and delivery-focused organisations, such as Development Corporations, have long been posited as ideal mechanisms to achieve that dual aim. But little attention to date has been given to the temporal nature of such organisations and how the...
In the context of global crises, 21st-century cities face numerous challenges. The impacts of climate change and economic tensions at all scales necessitate a more resource-conscious urban development while putting human needs at its centre. At the same time, the complexity of urban systems challenges planning, pointing to inevitable connections among geographic scales and action domains of...
The Rural Revitalization Strategy has significantly enhanced the scale, livability, and productivity of rural areas in China. This transformation has led to substantial changes in living spaces, production areas, and social relationships, resulting in the reshaping of rural fields. However, it also faces the dual challenges of ecological environmental issues and the imbalance between...
Guided by the goal of sustainable development, "Olympic legacy" refers to the long-term benefits brought to residents and cities by the Olympic Games or other major sporting events. Effective reuse of Olympic legacy has become a critical issue in modern Olympic practice. Consequently, the construction, development, and adaptive reuse of large-scale sports architecture heritage, often...
As the adverse effects of climate change intensify in a globalised context of substantial urban expansion, urban mitigation and adaptation measures are becoming increasingly imperative (Short & Farmer, 2021). In the context of surface water management, the 'sponge city' principle is gaining popularity, often in application of the Low Impact Development (LID) principle (Liu et al., 2017). The...
The article outlines the opportunities available to the Land Consolidation Court in cases where there is a desire to implement zoning plans, and where the execution of development is imminent.
The legal objectives of rural land consolidation and land readjustment, as its urban counterpart (Viitanen & Vitikainen, 2005), differ between countries. In Norway, land readjustment is a part of the...
The concept of social vulnerability has garnered increasing focus in recent decades, owing to its extensive range and interdisciplinary characteristics. A portion of these studies has been closely associated with the domain of urban planning and development. The notion of social vulnerability became integrated into the academic discourse of urban planning and disaster management during the...
the legacies of apulians land reform landscapes in the agrofood system between regenerations, abandoned land and new agroecological practices.
This thesis focuses on the legacies and material transformations of landscapes - which characterise the contemporary South of Italy - and which were affected by the land reform and the support of the “Cassa per il Mezzogiorno”.
The land reform of...
In recent years, many European cities have adopted new planning tools to manage climate change through new strategies, rethinking the relationship between the city and nature and innovating urban planning practices. Around 60% of the European population lives in small and medium-sized cities (10,000-250,000 inhabitants) (Selada et al., 2010), which often face climate challenges without...
Neoliberalism began to manifest itself towards the end of the 1970s with the decline in the profitability of industrial production, which rose during the modernism period, and the crisis of Keynesian social welfare structures that envisaged state intervention in the economic sphere (Clarke, 2005; Bahceci, 2017). The state is not at the centre as in modernism, but only in a regulatory role,...
The Life and Death of Metropolitan Planning in Turkey
Turkey's metropolitan planning tradition, once a cornerstone of metropolitan governance, began to unravel in the 1990s, giving way to territorial and urban master plans that lacked coordination and sensitivity to the complex dynamics of metropolitan areas (Yıldız, 2006). Historically, metropolitan planning in Turkey provided an...
Cities with rich historical layers, such as Xi'an, continuously face a persistent tension between urban renewal and heritage conservation. This conflict may find resolution in the integration of archaeological sites into contemporary urban life, fostering both preservation and adaptive reuse. However, in the context of rapid economic growth, many historical areas are subjected to...
For decades, emphatic calls for adaptation to climate impacts due to human-caused global warming have been rarely heeded in practice. A daily read of any reliable news source demonstrates that adaptation measures to confront climate impacts are inadequate, if existent. In parallel, climate change adaptation in the planning literature has mainly focused on policy reforms and infrastructure...
According to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the ‘Right to Adequate Housing’ means the provision of not just four walls and a roof, but rather the minimum requirement of legal security of tenure, availability of services, affordability, accessibility, habitability, location, and cultural adequacy. The requirement for a house is not limited to the...
In the context of globalisation, the city regions have progressively supplanted individual cities as the primary spatial unit for global competition (Zhang and Zhao,2023). Consequently, regional governance and transboundary planning issues have emerged as pivotal considerations in regional spatial research (Purkarthofer, Humer and Mäntysalo,2021). The New Regionalism Theory underscores the...
The continuous growth of immigrants in the United States and their residential dispersion into different communities have given rise to various local responses to the immigrant population across policy domains. Local government and civil society leaders have already started to join efforts, share best practices, and form partnerships to effectively integrate immigrants (De Graauw and...
In the last decades, a spatial dimension of the transformation of the new production model has been observed as a function of technological development. The latter, as early as the 80s, created a new network of global city-poles (mainly in the Global North) allowing the instant transfer of economic and social capital flows (mainly in the Global South). Thus, the geographical dispersion of...
X-minute city (XMC) policies represent a proximity-based planning approach designed to promote local living and active travel. These policies have gained significant attention in both research and practice, particularly since the mayor of Paris incorporated Carlos Moreno’s 15-minute city framework into her 2020 re-election campaign. In this paper, we review thirty-seven studies that explore...
The Paris sustainable agri-food strategy: the role of public lands and the rural-urban linkages.
Since 2008, the City of Paris has been working on a food policy for the procurement of public canteens, urban agriculture and open-air markets. This food strategy has recently been extended to the Seine basin, with the support of AgriParis Seine. Based on a cooperative and interterritorial...
The Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), administered by the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), is a campus-wide initiative that harnesses the expertise of UMD faculty and the energy and ingenuity of UMD students to help Maryland communities become more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. PALS is...
This paper, integrating practical research on land use control for urban construction projects, aims to offer beneficial references and guidance for planning control in projects of other countries, especially for those adopting a German-style planning system. Germany's planning system has evolved to integrate functional zoning, aiming for sustainable urban development that balances social,...
In the Global South, the outdoor spaces for children play have been severely restricted due to rapid urbanization and densification of urban areas. The increasing degree of urbanization has negative impacts on the independent mobility of children (Kytta 2004). With the lack of urban policies for children, the contemporary children's outdoor play spaces have been limited to private gardens,...
Many Southern European countries are characterised by a variety of inhabitation practices that, despite their extreme phenomenological diversity, can all be labelled as expressions of informality/illegality: the construction of unauthorised housing units by the middle class, informal inhabitation practices by marginalised or racialized subjects, the illegitimate occupation of public housing...
Trauma-aware planning has emerged as a promising approach to addressing the spatial impacts of adverse events and processes, including climate change, natural disasters, war, and urban renewal. Theoretically rooted in equity planning, emotionally engaged planning, and reflective practice, it offers a transformative planning orientation aligned with the ethic of care. However, the concept...
Urban wastelands, as abandoned, underutilized, or functionally ambiguous lands, are often regarded as "spatial fragments" or "marginal spaces" in urban development, typically lacking clear functional designation purposes (Gandy, 2013). In the Chinese context, informal farms are generally part of urban wastelands created by urban villages or other communities using minimal materials and basic...
Boundaries, as extremely common elements in urban space, are closely linked to the development of urban space and people's daily lives. In urban space, there is a rich variety of boundary types. Natural boundaries, in the form of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, naturally divide the space; institutional boundaries divide the city into different governance units according to management...
Where design is often narrowly interpreted as ‘giving shape to things’, its potential goes beyond formgiving. This research specifically focuses on the nexus of research, practice, and policymaking in shaping urban futures and the potential of the designer’s role at this intersection of disciplines and scales.
By revisiting key literature of the recent past and examining a range of...
Against the backdrop of tight urban spatial resources, urban governments in China are actively implementing urban renewal strategies by transforming idle commercial and office spaces as well as urban villages into rental housing. This is conducive to revitalizing the utilization of existing spatial resources and promoting the balance between employment and residence. Globally, the rental...
Urban aesthetics has made a comeback in planning research and practice in recent years, as substantive issues of equity, justice, dignity and beauty have re-emerged in disciplinary discussions. However, contemporary debate is increasingly concerned with the socio-cultural and political dimensions of aesthetics, rather than simply the materiality of the built environment. In this sense, current...
The paper presents a reflection on the proposed reform of the national urban planning law (Law 1150/1942), developed by the Italian National Institute of Urban Planning (INU, 2022) and titled 'Law of Fundamental Principles and General Rules for Land Governance and Planning’. This proposal is the result of a process initiated during the INU congress in 2022 to integrate contributions from the...
Public urban space in 21st-century urban environments has become a highly controversial topic. As neoliberal agendas dominate the production of urban space towards a more privatized, commercialized, and commodified mode of urbanization, truly public urban venues become rare relicts. With the rapid propagation of privately owned public spaces and pseudo public spaces in major urban centers,...
Tore Sager, Professor Emeritus
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
7491, Trondheim, Norway
tore.sager@ntnu.no
Phone +47 918 97 158
Abstract: Prefigurative mobilizations, such as alternative micro-communities and urban social movements, organize their practice here and now in ways that are in line with and reveal...
PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH
Vulnerable territories cover 60% of Italy’s land surface, including inner areas, which are far from metropolitan catchment basins and the main centres of essential services and are therefore particularly affected by the lack of infrastructure. In fact, the development of the railway networks reflects the policies carried out for the improvement of the main networks,...
This study focuses on the layers of the urban transformation in one of the most central and valued areas of Istanbul. Bomonti with its unique history offers a site where the impacts of political economy of the various eras can be read. Influenced by global production and consumption dynamics, as well as central and local land use decisions, Bomonti has undergone a dramatic transformation over...
The definition and recognition of borders through the mobility of migrants develops around the reflection on the relationship between borders, territory and the phenomenon of migration: borders as social constructs are strictly related to cross-border control and transnational cooperation and the creation of functional spaces of mobility or containment.
Starting from the relationship between...
Climate change and urban planning exhibit a strong interplay. Achieving sustainability goals critically depends on the integration of climate action plans developed at both national and local scales into spatial plans. Having become a party to the Kyoto Protocol (2009) and the Paris Agreement (2021), Türkiye has maintained its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in line with...
Urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters, exacerbated by factors such as dense populations, inadequate infrastructure and unplanned development. Such disasters can have devastating consequences, including loss of life, economic disruption, and social upheaval. Recognizing the critical importance of urban resilience, experts and scholars stress the need for...
Collaborative planning based on Habermasian communicative theories is a holistic planning theory different from action-oriented planning theories (Levin-Keitel & Behrend, 2023). In empirical research, collaborative planning is often explained well in the literature review, but its application in examining local planning cases tends to be superficial. Much of the focus is on whether the case...
The study of the border region between United States and Mexico throughout the 20th century, and the first decades of the 21st century necessarily implies understanding the historical, economic, social and cultural processes that made possible the transformation of this cross-border area. The border in terms of space does not only refer to the territorial delimitation that divides two...
With the acceleration of Shanghai's urban development, the construction of five new cities has become the key for Shanghai to lead the development of regional integration, and population agglomeration has always been a difficult problem in the construction of new cities in Shanghai. This study focuses on this phenomenon and deeply analyzes the internal motivation of population growth,...
Wildfires, snowstorms, and rising temperatures are intensifying in tandem with growing inequalities and political dissatisfaction, signaling the profound socio-economic challenges posed by climate change. As the world has collectively pledged to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 under the Paris Climate Accord, this commitment necessitates extensive economic restructuring and significant...
The open-ended processes of power, political and societal transformation that initiated with the fall of the socialist regime/s around the beginning of 1990s, marked down the so-called post-socialism transition ( (Müller 2019); (Petrov 2014)) of the affected Central-East European (CEE) countries. The term ‘transition’ in particular, was largely employed among scholars in political sciences,...
Over recent decades, urban design has been consistently critiqued for its growing disparity between its theoretical aspirations and practical outcomes, with the process often failing to deliver the high-quality results it promises (Elrahman and Asaad, 2021). This persistent disconnect raises a pivotal question: can theories transcend their prescriptive frameworks to act as transformative...
The built environment is responsible for nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, highlighting its critical role in addressing climate change. Retrofitting existing buildings has emerged as a key strategy for achieving net-zero carbon objectives, focusing on reducing both operational and embodied carbon emissions. However, retrofitting practices face challenges such as fragmented data...
Background
Big Data and real-time information from social media are increasingly being analyzed in research on the relationship between urban spaces, people’s behavior, and their satisfaction with the living environment. The integration of technology in urban planning, as enabled by these tools, offers enhanced insights into urban phenomena.
Topic
Big Data and real-time social media...
Housing affordability and accessibility remain critical challenges in Italian urban areas, particularly in Naples. The demand for affordable and inclusive housing necessitates innovative solutions that address shifting social, demographics and urban planning needs. A shift toward cooperative housing policies and 'housing commons' underscores the importance of accessibility and...
Today's global economic environment is affected by a variety of shocks and crises that occur frequently and have profound impacts. These crises create various problems at both national and global levels, leading to serious economic effects on sectors. Crises have different consequences at sectoral and spatial levels. These differentiations require regions and sectors to be addressed at...
Since the 2000s, Lima has undergone significant transformations in socio-spatial segregation patterns, driven by neoliberal policies from the 1990s (Fernández-de-Córdova et al., 2021). These policies encouraged the disorderly expansion of the urban periphery and the emergence of mixed-use areas, while high-value districts consolidated patterns of economic exclusivity (Fernández-Maldonado,...
In doing Discourse Analysis in Governance and Public Policies (Fischer, 2003), Multi-Method Qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (Nielson & Nørreklit, 2009; Alejandro & Zhao, 2023) has been adopted to the focus of European discourse studies (Blommaert, & Bulcaen, 2000). This contribution looks at the conceptualisation and operationalisation of JGT as matters of multi-level meta-governance...
Urban areas face challenges like climate change and socioeconomic crises, necessitating innovative planning. Their inability to manage global shocks locally underscores long-term structural, organizational, and governance vulnerabilities (Pozoukidou & Plastara, 2025). At this edge, the 15-minute City (15mC) concept emerged as an innovative neighborhood-based approach for sustainable urban...
Millions of people are displaced every year due to extreme weather events caused by climate change. In 2020, 40.5 million people had to migrate, the highest figure of the last decade. It is estimated by climate change scenarios that this figure will be much higher in the coming years. Internationally, climate change policies have started to develop since the beginning of the 20th century and...
In the face of the climate crisis, compact development is becoming a challenge to provide adequate urban ventilation. Dense, high intensity building development reduces wind velocity, leading to stagnation and accumulation of pollutants in the air and an increase in the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon (Poćwierz & Zielonko-Jung, 2021). In turn, air pollution and the UHI phenomenon negatively...
This study explores the use of scenario-based design in spatial design projects and its contribution to the design process. In today's world, where uncertainties about the future are increasing, the impacts of dynamics such as the climate crisis, rapid urbanization, and technological transformation on spatial planning and design are becoming increasingly unpredictable. In this context,...
The role of the car in a post car society
According to Ivan Illich in his book “Tools for Conviviality” (Illich 1973) each technical invention has its liberating effects, however, if not carefully managed, turns men into slaves of the same invention. The car is one of his favourite examples.
The original purpose of cars was (1) Leisure trips to the countryside for wealthy urbanites, and...
Meryem CAĞIŞ, Doç. Dr. Nilgün Çolpan ERKAN*
* Graduate Student, Yıldız Technical Universit, Department of City and Regional Planning
cagismeryem@gmail.com, 05452899179, ORCID. 0000-0002-7581-7774
** Assoc. Dr. Thesis Advisor, Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning
nilerkan@yildiz.edu.tr, 05322732603, ORCID....
Urban vitality, as a key indicator of urban development, has long been a central concern in urban planning. Jacobs suggests that 24-hour human activity is the foundation of vitality, and urban diversity is the key factor in shaping this vitality (Jacobs, 1989). Understanding the spatiotemporal patterns of urban vitality and the role of diversity is crucial for enhancing vitality, fostering...
Planning systems can be described as an amalgamation of legal structures, power relations, governance dynamics, and undoubtedly, a network of various actors affecting the form and function of the built environment. Planning systems are the main instrument with which governments control and manage development. For many planning practitioners and theorists in the Global North, considering...
The Gargano promontory, located in Puglia, south of Italy, is a distinctive territory, punctuated by an extraordinary concentration of sacred sites that have profoundly shaped its cultural and landscape identity over centuries. Referred to as the "Sacred Mountain," it epitomizes the transformative interaction between cultural heritage and natural landscapes, influencing not only the physical...
The accelerating pressure of climate change on human settlements and the environment imposes a responsibility on central and local governments to take action (Kuyper, Schroeder and Linnér, 2018). Local governments’ commitment to international agreements and transnational city networks necessitates the preparation of climate action plans (Arı and Aydın, 2019; C40 Knowledge Community, no date;...
In the age of planetary urbanisation, regional and spatial planning strategies are increasingly favoured by national governments to respond to global urban challenges, as they can guide the development and management of land, resources and large-scale infrastructure across large territories. By becoming a form of articulator between the urban development of cities and the integral development...
I am a third-year PhD student at the Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, University of the West of England (UWE), currently in the writing-up phase of my research.
This analysis sits at the intersection of mobility justice (Sheller, 2018)- which interrogates who gains or loses mobility privileges- and urban social justice (Marcuse et al., 2009), exposing the processes that...
According to Lefebvre (2013), the prioritization of exchange value in urban space forms the basis of urban injustice and inequality. Under the influence of neoliberal policies, housing has transformed from a basic need for shelter into an investment, prestige, and rent-generating commodity. The 2000s, as a period when neoliberal policies became spatialized, marked a time of significant changes...
This paper revisits the class question in the context of socio-ecological transformations. More specifically, it examines how socio-spatial analysis understood as a method can better respond to both social and ecological conditions. Socio-spatial methods have been widely applied in the redesign of public spaces. They are often used as a basis for competitions, planning processes, and...
Urban densification is often considered the best strategy for achieving sustainability goals and fostering social mix in urban contexts. While social mix has been used as a central argument to promote densification in several contexts, research has shown that densification is often linked to rising rents and housing prices, displacement, and exclusionary pressures if effective housing policies...
For college students, the spatial environment in which they live and study plays a crucial role in shaping their daily experiences and overall development. The college campus, the surrounding areas such as the college town (a concept commonly seen in China where universities are often located in specific urban districts), and the broader city they reside in, represent different scales of space...
In recent years, cafes located on side streets or in the peripheries of major commercial centers have emerged as a significant trend. These establishments overcome less favorable locational conditions by offering unique and differentiated experiences that set them apart from traditional retail spaces. Moreover, in urban contexts, cafes have evolved beyond their functional role as providers of...
After 1980, the fact experienced all over the world and called neoliberalism is based on the reproduction of capital through urban space. In this process, the relations between institutions, economic actors, the nation state, local governments and financial capital have been redefined by moving away from the concept of the welfare state, privatisation, increasing international capital...
Identifying the spatial quality characteristics of urban streets is the key to realize scientific planning and effective management of urban streets. It provides the basis for the optimization of urban spatial layout and promotes the intelligent and sustainable development of cities. However, previous studies are mostly limited to some neighborhoods and lack a systematic analysis of street...
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a critical juncture for the fields of urban planning, urban design, and transportation studies. There has been an increase in active modes of travel such as walking and cycling, especially amongst people who previously relied on private vehicles and public transportation (Rice, 2020). A renewed dialogue has begun about what post-pandemic cities should look like....
This paper discusses the methodological framework for examining the current spatial supply structures of three types of shared mobility services (car-, bike-, and e-scooter) to develop a typology according to socio-economic and socio-cultural characteristic of potential users. It forms part of the DUT-funded project, Share4Equity, which aims to explore the current and potential contribution of...
The 15-minute city concept, pioneered by Carlos Moreno, aims to revolutionize urban sustainability by reducing dependency on private vehicles and promoting public transport, active and shared mobility. This paper evaluates the concept's effectiveness in reducing GHG emissions, improving air quality, and decreasing urban sprawl. Further, it examines the concept's impact on social inclusion for...
In Italy, and in Lombardy in particular, an interesting third housing sector has been developing for about 25 years. Born as a reaction to the dramatic lack of rental housing, promoted by entities such as the Milanese Church (Fondazione San Carlo), Fondazione Cariplo, the most important Italian bank foundation (Fondazione Housing Sociale), by the cooperative movement (DAR Casa) it has made a...
In the context of the increasingly severe global environmental crisis, where the urban heat island effect is seriously eroding the ecological health of cities and threatening human well-being, it is extremely urgent to deeply explore the cooling mechanism of urban green spaces. (Farshid, 2019; Lin, 2021). Urban green spaces are crucial for alleviating urban overheating and play a vital role in...
Historically, public spaces have been central to civic life, fostering social interaction, cultural exchange, and collective expression. However, due to the increasing social inequalities, growing urban populations, and public health challenges, the importance of well-designed public spaces become even more evident. When thoughtfully created and activated, these spaces can serve as beacons of...
Migration, as a search for the better, has to be considered as an important element of human survival process. More than ever, in an age of planetary crisis migration gained multiple meanings and importance. Resource depletion, wars and disasters, social and economic injustices, problems of security and quality of life can be mentioned as some of the major research areas.
As a reflection...
Running water, electricity, organised road traffic and a healthcare system are an important part of daily life for many people worldwide. In Germany, the protection of these so-called critical infrastructures (CI) has become a concern at the national, regional, and communal levels. CI face a range of disruptive factors that heighten the need for protection. In addition to the dangers of CI...
The concept of cultural landscape echoes the trend towards three-dimensional, holistic, and dynamic inheritance and protection of historical and cultural heritage. Under the perspective of cultural landscape, ordinary areas lacking heritage can be found special value of culture. This study takes Suqian area as an example, attempting to explore the water culture value of Suqian area at large...
The object of this present study is to reveal the spatial configuration of 55 Norwegian towns and cities related to degree of walkability potentials. The aim is to investigate to what extent the street or road profile affect the walkability potentials in the town centres based on the distribution of roads in comparison of streets based on street names. The reason as to why we focus on the town...
This contribution proposes a critical analysis of the acronyms and operational tools that describe the package of measures, actions and projects implemented with the resources allocated by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the instrument through which the ‘Next Generation EU’ European plan (the programme with which Europe responded to the pandemic crisis) was territorialised in...
The paper proposes a critical reflection on the first (and partial) outcomes of a research conducted on the phenomena of social inclusion/exclusion in a controversial context, such as the urban regions of Southern Italy.
Specifically, the contribution critically explores the concept/metaphor of the ‘middle-land’ through the focus of social and spatial inclusion/exclusion phenomena, using...
The concept of ‘tipping points’ has been influential in the literature on the climate crisis. The earliest mention of the metaphor ‘tipping point’ was found in studies on racial segregation, where it referred to the factors that triggered the swift departure of the white majority from neighbourhoods in US cities during the 1950s. In the 2000s the use of the term surged significantly,...
Children are among the most affected yet least involved groups in urban flood resilience planning, particularly in coastal areas facing increasing risks due to climate change. In Indonesia, cities like Semarang, Jakarta, Demak, and Pekalongan are at the forefront of these challenges. Many children in these areas live in informal settlements where frequent flooding disrupts their daily lives....
Post-growth planning is a call for focusing on wellbeing and health while staying within the planetary boundaries in a long-term perspective. We observe an increasing academic interest in the connections between post-growth or degrowth and infrastructure planning in academia, and now also in practice in countries such as the Netherlands. Infrastructure providers themselves are publicly...
Tourism-led regeneration is emerging as a widespread strategy to bring some economic resources to left-behind places. While many cities across the world are dealing with the consequences of over-tourism and increased rates of short-term lettings (e.g., increased house prices, inflation of consumer costs and wider clashes between residents and visitors or the seasonal population of these...
The circular economy is increasingly regarded as a crucial strategy for mitigating resource scarcity and improving waste management in cities, becoming an important factor for urban and regional development. However, many implementation processes overlook an important aspect: the spatial dimension of circularity. Scholars have begun to advocate for “circular cities,” proposing frameworks that...
At a time when climate change is showing its destructive force, with record high temperatures and environmental catastrophes, we need to look for an alternative approach to the current one that rethinks cities as living organisms and optimises processes rather than products, paying close attention to the management of urban flows so as to develop a more efficient urban metabolism.
In urban...
Integrating health issues into planning and urban development is becoming urgent (UN-Habitat and WHO; 2023) in this context of concurrent crises and climate change. It is about understanding how to minimize the exposure of populations to risk factors (pollutants, social isolation, etc.) while maximizing exposure to protective factors (practice of physical activities, access to green spaces,...
In November 2021, the Irish housing minister announced the most ambitious building programme in the history of the State. Housing for All promised to deliver 30,000 new homes per year to the end of the decade, and thus resolve once and for all Ireland’s emblematic post-recession ‘crisis’ (DHLGH, 2021). The same month, the government’s Climate Action Plan was released, providing a roadmap to...
The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) funding priority Sustainable Development of Urban Regions, (SURE) is an application-oriented research that supports ten collaborative research projects focused on urban sustainability. The ten collaborative projects aim to develop practical solutions for more sustainable and resilient cities and regions in Southeast Asia and China....
As cities face growing environmental challenges such as climate change and resource depletion, integrating circular principles into urban systems has become crucial for fostering sustainability and optimizing resource management. This imperative is increasingly advanced through the smart city paradigm, wherein technological innovations are leveraged to enhance the efficiency of circular...
Portraited as the ‘last mile’ and ‘basic unit’ of social governance in Chinese official discourses, the neighbourhood has recently gained unprecedented importance in Chinese cities. Active neighbourhood participation and multi-actor collaboration become the new norms of neighbourhood governance, characterised by the emergence of multiple new forms of governance led by different stakeholders....
This research addresses the challenges of 3D City Information Modelling using UAVs for data collection and processing. It presents an appropriate cost-efficient and scalable approach for generating high-resolution 3D urban models by integrating advanced photogrammetry and data-driven methods. The primary goal is to overcome barriers in data collection, processing, and model implementation,...
Addressing socio-spatial inequality in data-poor regions requires innovative urban research and planning to overcome acute data deficiencies. Policymakers and planners face the challenge of accommodating the needs of rapidly growing urban populations, yet data scarcity often exacerbates inequality and hinders effective decision-making. Emerging data—spanning those generated from urban sensing,...
Cities are at the forefront of transformative planning in the green and digital era, experimenting with innovative smart city narratives and technologies. This study emerges from embedded research conducted through a collaboration between the [ADAPT Research Ireland Centre,][1] a national government-funded multi-institutional and interdisciplinary research centre, and Dublin City Council’s...
Tourism development globally has driven economic growth, offering potential pathways for promoting inclusive development. Yet the implementation of inclusive practices in tourism often faces challenges, including restricted growth in tourism opportunities, unequal access to tourism opportunities, and inequitable outcomes of tourism (Bakker, 2019). Taking Dali, China as an example, tourism, as...
The novel concept of the 15-minute city has gained ground in the planning domain worldwide due to the numerous benefits proclaimed for local communities. Although it builds upon previous urban planning movements and ideas, new labelling at the right time has absorbed extra attention when cities globally face resource constraints, climate change, vulnerable settlements, pandemics, and social...
Water plays a crucial role in sustaining life, maintaining ecosystems, and facilitating economic progress. Nevertheless, its management presents complex challenges in the face of growing demands and environmental changes. Effective water governance is essential for enhancing resilience and ensuring the sustainable management of water resources. The mismanagement or overexploitation leads to...
Cities are increasingly facing irreversible climate impacts. Meanwhile cities are responsible for a large share of global resource extraction and energy use, accounting for about 67–76% of global energy use (IPCC, 2023). The built environments, including materials, buildings, infrastructure and urban systems, drive a significant portion of this demand, consuming approximately 40% of raw...
Post-growth urban planning has in recent years begun to redefine urban development by foregrounding objectives beyond economic growth and towards social and ecological wellbeing. However, this emerging field has not yet considered the cultural politics that we argue are crucial in facilitating such a significant shift. This is particularly evident in the significant sociocultural and political...
Although acritically reported as steadily galloping for the next decades, based on recent trends, global urbanisation is not exempt from either physico-ecological and social issues and related limits, just like the well-known ones dealt with by Meadows et al. (1972) and by Hirsch (1976). As a matter of fact, natural systems follow pulsing paradigms (Odum et al., 1995), with successions of...
Addressing complex and multifaceted planning problems requires a deep understanding of the diverse perceptions and ideas that stakeholders hold (Healey, 2009; Innes and Booher, 2015). Still, capturing the range and nuance in perspectives, which is necessary for developing transformative actions, remains a difficult endeavor in research and planning processes. Even after the communicative turn...
Some European cities have undergone rapid expansion of inhabitants and employment opportunities during the last two decades. Consequently, their spatial development targets have gradually shifted from largely exploited inner city brownfield redevelopment sites towards densification-oriented redevelopment of areas at their urban fringes. However, such sites bear specific challenges. During...
The firestorms in Los Angeles January 2025 demonstrate how cities, even in the richest of all nations, are increasingly vulnerable. Then it seems this vulnerability is amplified by social extremism (blaming migrants, diversion of social funds, also looting): climate denial (complete rejection of the scientific consensus): financial hijack (price-inflation for emergency accommodation): and...
The evolution of global and regional migration policies offers critical insights into how Türkiye has navigated its responses to migrant entrepreneurship. The EU’s migration strategy has been shaped by emerging labor shortages in Member States, driven by demographic shifts such as an aging population and declining workforce availability. These challenges underscored the economic necessity of...
The shift to renewable energy is transforming rural landscapes, presenting both opportunities and challenges for biodiversity conservation and agricultural sustainability. This study examines the spatial and functional relationships between agricultural land, biodiversity conservation, and ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) deployment in Italy, addressing the "Land Use Gap" emerging from...
The global climate crisis exacerbates local environmental challenges, such as human losses, negative health impacts, and loss of biodiversity. Cities in particular are highly prone to the negative impacts of a warmer climate. While cities are highly attractive to individuals, they lack of green and blue spaces, and often have high levels of social vulnerability. In response to these...
One of the alarming aspects of the global cities is that social and economic disparities and inequalities are deepened and they accompany with the flourishing informal sector. These inequalities have significant impacts on urban space. One of these places, known as Küçükpazar, is located at the outskirts of the Süleymaniye World Heritage Site in Istanbul. The market area is a small square and...
Due to the impact of online e-commerce consumption and homogeneous competition in offline consumption space, the traditional cultural consumption space has been forced to accelerate the transformation and upgrading.With the youth and subdivision of cultural consumption groups, the public 's cultural consumption demand is constantly increasing. Through cultural consumption and artistic...
In response to growing planetary crises and the COVID-19 pandemic, urban-to-rural migration has emerged as a significant demographic shift, challenging traditional planning approaches and spatial justice considerations. This spatial mobility is particularly visible in Turkey's rural areas, where improved infrastructure, remote working possibilities, and changing lifestyle preferences have...
The article explores the functional and spatial transformation of public space in post-socialist cities of Ukraine in wartime, in particular, on the example of Poltava. The evolution of urban planning from the resource-centered approaches of the socialist period to modern inclusive and sustainable approaches is considered. Particular attention is paid to inclusiveness as a key aspect of...
In the context of critical and looming change toward a post-growth society – one that aligns ecological imperatives with social equity – planning plays a pivotal role in shaping viable pathways forward. In recent years, post-growth ideas have gained significant traction within planning discourse. However, this shift raises serious questions about the suitability of existing planning paradigms,...
Abstract
Planning has been the key transformative action during these times of highly increasing global crises such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and socio-economic inequality. We should not have blind pursuit of economic benefits; instead, we have to consider environmental ones during construction. It is not advisable to obtain high benefits at the expense of the...
The world becomes urban, the majority of people live in cities, and we speak of an ‘urban age’. Planning as transformative action, especially towards and in a future post-growth society, involves motivating and engaging urban imaginaries. While some of them remain hidden in urban theory and associated role perceptions of planners and policymakers, so do we see imaginaries driving cities to...
Over the past decades, cities have faced increasing environmental, social, and economic challenges, which are complex to resolve not only due to its complexity but also because of the intricate chain of causes and consequences among phenomena (Hardoy and Ruete, 2013). Additionally, the adaptation of densely populated urban areas with consolidated urban fabric poses significant constraints for...
Circularity, among others, has emerged as a critical paradigm for addressing contemporary environmental challenges in the built environment. Cities are under increasing pressure from climate change, resource depletion, and socio-economic inequalities, making circular spatial strategies essential for sustainable transformation. Achieving this, however, requires large-scale, cross-border...
Highway cap parks are emerging as transformative urban green infrastructure, addressing environmental challenges while promoting physical activity (PA) and public space utilization in dense urban areas. This study examines the impact of the Bundang-Suseo Highway cap park in South Korea on residents’ PA levels, focusing on walking, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity activities. Using...
Planning education has evolved significantly over the last century, shaped by societal needs, technological advances, and pedagogical innovations (Frank, 2006). Its origins were rooted in addressing the challenges of industrialization, with early programs focusing heavily on spatial planning and physical design, drawing influence from architecture and engineering. Institutions such as the...
Urban and peri-urban parking lots are underutilized spaces with significant potential for sustainable transformation. Traditionally serving as basic vehicle storage, these sealed surfaces exacerbate climate change as urban heat islands and miss opportunities to support multifunctional uses. With shifting mobility paradigms, increasing demand for renewable energy, and growing societal needs for...
PLAY ISTANBUL initiative’s comprehensive approach encompasses a range of strategies and projects, the major one being the establishment of an official department called Play and Recreation Chieftaincy which has been charged with the responsibility of monitoring and implementing the initiative's vision. The overarching vision emphasises the significance of people's well-being and access to play...
Urban thresholds, as dynamic interfaces between private residences and public spaces possess the untapped potential to foster resilience within marginalised urban environments. This research investigates the transformative possibilities of these liminal spaces, advancing their conceptualisation as multifunctional ecosystems that integrate socio-environmental and spatial resilience. The study...
Longstanding institutional fragmentation of public transport services leads to service gaps, poor coordination and discourages ridership. The current conversations about service adaptation are shining a light on long-standing transport institutional challenges like fragmentation, inconsistent fare structures & financing and lack of coverage. In many cities, there are multiple operators,...
This paper illustrates the experience of Università Iuav di Venezia (Iuav) as a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) in developing design strategies for the recovery, reconstruction and development for the Gaza Strip. Recognising the complexity of the humanitarian crisis and the challenges posed by the evolving...
Street experiments are highly effective tools for increasing the efficiency of decision-making and planning processes. They allow citizens to gain experience related to the implementation, provide feedback, and offer an opportunity to observe how projects function in real life and help identify and minimize unforeseen issues at the “experiment” phase before the actual implementation....
As a flagship project of intergovernmental collaboration between China and Singapore, the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) has not only catalyzed regional economic growth but also emerged as an important case of transnational urban planning knowledge transfer and spillover. This study focuses on the dynamic flow of planning knowledge within SIP, investigating how Singapore's urban planning...
This paper will highlight the importance of a transnational framework to study migration communities in cities. With current transnational connections, migration can no longer be understood as a permanent rupture with the homeland (Glick Schiller et al., 1992). As migrants maintain continuous and increasingly intensive relationships with their countries of origin, understanding the current...
The transnational flow of planning knowledge has gradually become a research hotspot since the late 20th century against the trends of the globalization of planning and EU integration. Various interdisciplinary terms have been used to describe this phenomenon, such as "cross-national learning" and "policy mobilization" in politics study, and "knowledge flow" in management study. Some findings...
Many municipalities and public authorities seek to decarbonize transport and inspire a modal shift towards increased walking, cycling or public transport. However, the urban form poses a major obstacle. The sprawling highway infrastructure causes fragmentation of urban regions and wide roads act as barrier for pedestrians and cyclists. It is often impossible to walk, cycle or use public...
The 2011 Syrian crisis displaced over 12 million people, making it one of the most significant forced migration events in recent history (UNHCR, 2023). Among the countries receiving displaced populations, Germany and Lebanon have recorded some of the highest refugee numbers worldwide. As of 2024, Germany hosts the largest refugee population in Europe, while Lebanon has the highest per capita...
With the worsening of low fertility and ageing in China, the proportion of elderly people is gradually increasing, and the government is placing greater emphasis on addressing the social needs of the elderly. In the Shanghai metropolitan area, Shanghai is the first city in China to experience population ageing, with the highest degree. Some cities, such as Nantong, have also entered a severely...
“Traveling for concerts” has become a popular tourism trend in China (He & Fu, 2024). Besides attending performances, travellers would explore host cities. More audiences, especially celebrity fans, now travel to other cities for an event. This type of tourism, tied to specific events or media content, is not a new phenomenon. As early as the 1980s, the influence of films and TV dramas on...
Climate change caused by increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration poses a significant threat to life on Earth. Climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience are identified as narrowly connected concepts and actions needed to address this threat. However, the window for addressing climate change is shrinking as time is passing and needed action is lacking. If the global...
Over the past years, the concept of circularity has gained considerable momentum in spatial planning as part of the broader transition predicated upon resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and the promise of an economic makeover. With cities and regions envisaged as frontrunners of the circular transition, the turn to spatial planning came as a natural step in problematizing the role...
Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies and urbanizing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The rapid expansion of existing urban areas and the significant increase in the number of new towns highlight the remarkable trends in Ethiopia’s urban growth. This urbanization process is accompanied by large-scale urban projects aimed at promoting long-term urbanization and modernization in the...
Humankind is currently living in a hyper-dynamic and constant transforming environment- in the so called convergence era and 4rth industrial revolution. This level of development requires a complexity-led approach and transformations of our political, societal, economic and technological framework: the way we are living and being educated, creating new jobs and generating sustainable growth,...
The roundtable we propose will explore innovative regulatory tools and practices addressing the affordable housing crisis within fragmented governance systems, with a focus on their implementation, benefits, and challenges in diverse country contexts. While housing market trends and urban development processes vary significantly across nations, this session aims to foster a comparative...
Energy is one of the essential services that everyone should have access to, as identified by the European Pillar of Social Rights. Nevertheless, according to Eurostat, in 2023, an average of 10.6% of the European population was in a condition of energy poverty, i.e. could not afford to keep their homes adequately heated. For some Mediterranean countries (Portugal, Spain, Bulgaria, Turkey) and...
In December 2024, the Portuguese government approved Decree-Law 117/2024, allowing private housing developments on rural land with minimal restrictions and bureaucratic requirements, terminating the need for detailed plans or updates to existing municipal land use plans. The government asserts that this measure seeks to grant developers access to inexpensive land to reduce housing...
A significant number of European countries have recently published national energy and climate plans (NECPs), which demonstrate energy transition pathways at the national level in a highly sophisticated manner. These NECPs include substantial orders of magnitude for emission reductions, as well as the share of energy to be supplied by renewable sources. Furthermore, the figures are also...
This paper critically situates the notion of ‘commoning accessibility’ within the wider context of the changing European welfare state. In many peripheral areas across Europe accessibility is under pressure due to the privatization and deregulation of public transport, the enclosure and commercialization of public spaces, and the withdrawal of services such as healthcare. Recently, the notion...
Emotional bonds between people and their neighborhoods are important for urban planning because they influence how individuals engage with and contribute to their communities. These bonds create a sense of belonging, attachment, and identity that can enhance the quality of life and foster stronger, more resilient neighborhoods. These bonds have been extensively studied, primarily under the...
This paper examines the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) within the shifting landscape of England’s urban governance amid political and economic upheavals. Focusing on the interplay between 'urban crises' and 'local practices', the study investigates how CSOs navigate challenges posed by neoliberal policies, austerity measures, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on qualitative data...
Land take, the conversion of agricultural, natural, and semi-natural areas into urban or artificial spaces, represents one of the most pressing challenges faced by urban planners today. This phenomenon is driven by multiple factors, such as urbanization, infrastructure development, industrialization, and speculative real estate activities, all of which contribute to the increasing rate of land...
The Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) is a recent traffic management approach to removing motorised through-traffic from residential streets in the UK by strategically blocking roads using bollards and planters while allowing passage of walkers and cyclists and other micromobilities including electric scooters. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are also used to facilitate the...
Transformative change of the local urban energy system towards renewable energy consumption and energy efficiency is needed to diminish urban GHG emissions and pave the way towards climate-neutral cities. To secure carbon neutrality in cities, neighbourhoods offer critical sites for local action for climate mitigation and decarbonisation policies. An emerging body of literature on...
As the process of globalisation accelerates, cultural diversity is receiving unprecedented attention. The international community's ongoing exploration of sustainable development models for traditional communities has increasingly highlighted the importance of culture in shaping local identity, transforming the value of resources and enhancing economic competitiveness. The intrinsic connection...
Access to energy is now widely acknowledged as not only a fundamental human right but also a key driver of social inclusion and equitable living standards. This concept encompasses not only access to electricity but also reliable, adequate, and sustainable energy to meet basic needs. Energy poverty, in its broadest sense, is defined as a lack of access to energy required to meet needs such as...
In metropolitan areas with large populations, university students suffer from spatial inequalities due to inadequate housing supply and uneven distribution of housing environment elements, leading to stress, instability, and insecurity (Sotomayor et al., 2022; Fang and van Liempt, 2021). Since students are a vulnerable group with limited housing choices, an over-reliance on market distribution...
In face of compelling socio-ecological urgencies, including conditions of persistent food insecurity and (planetary) health crisis, cities are confronted with the mounting challenge of guaranteeing access to healthy and sustainable food for all (HLPE, 2024). Thousands of urban food policies and initiatives have emerged in the last decade to incorporate food related concerns into urban agendas,...
Europe is at the heart of a digital revolution affecting almost every domain of the economy, policies and citizens' lifestyles in general. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation unveiling at the same time important challenges characterizing this socio-technical transformation: 1) it has exposed society's vulnerability to new digital divides, 2) it demonstrated that...
In the current era of rapid migration, it is stated that one out of 30 people is on the move, and the proportion of the population living in cities will increase to 66% in 2050 (IOM, 2024). Migration corridors have started to take shape in the last 30 years due to neoliberal economic policies, war, displacement and climate crisis. Turkey is located between important migration corridors such as...
Climate adaptation is becoming increasingly critical in urban spatial planning as extreme weather events necessitate climate-adaptive measures. Effective planning relies on climate information to provide insight in potential climate impacts and/or the effectiveness of proposed adaptive measures. Such information is often provided by ‘climate services,’ such as maps or decision support tools,...
Understanding Uncertainty in Planning;
Case study of demographic forecasts in urban plans in Iran
Uncertainty is an intrinsic notion in planning that is mostly recognized as the obstacle in the process of planning and achieving its goals. So planning devoted practice and theory to reduce this unpopular notion and take control of reality. But all the tools introduced to tackle with...
Urban vandalism, characterized by the deliberate destruction or defacement of public or private property, has emerged as a critical issue in Indian cities.Urban vandalism, viewed as simple delinquency, reveals profound socio-cultural processes inside India's swiftly changing urban setting. However prevalent, it is insufficiently examined within the Indian setting, especially regarding...
There is evidence that those aged younger than 35 within Europe are gaining their driver's licences at a later age and are less likely to own or use a car regularly than the generations preceding them. Accordingly, these individuals make greater use of public transportation, active travel and newer modes of mobility such as micro-mobility hire (Chatterjee et al., 2018).
In principle, if...
The territories of energy production often do not coincide with those of their consumption. The "energy footprint" of urban areas has always extended over increasingly large basins, shaping distant and detached territories and creating "reciprocal landscapes." For example, for much of the 20th century, hydropower production has particularly impacted alpine territories near urban areas,...
Human-nature relations in urban areas are one of the complex topics in planning discourse. Global challenges like climate change and warming and, in general, living qualities in cities for both humans and nature add another layer of uncertainty to future calculations. Changes in human living conditions, besides their significant economic effects, pose a threat to the social-ecological system...
Over the centuries, the process of urbanization has progressively expanded, altered and modified the natural water cycles: water has been urbanized. This paper proposes to analyze water infrastructure as the intertwining of distinct but yet interconnected networks: surface, ground, drinking, runoff, wastewater. With the development of increasingly complex water machines, mainly conceived as a...
Logistics is increasingly central to the functioning of contemporary capitalism, intertwining supply chains, infrastructure corridors and distribution centres. Although it is often associated with the movement of flows and global connectivity, logistics also consists of settlements - such as freight villages, hubs and warehouses - that have a spatial, economic, and social footprint with a...
Universities can play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable urban food systems by combining research, education, and strategic alliances to enhance community awareness and foster innovative practices. The Off-Campus initiative, launched in 2018 by Politecnico di Milano, exemplifies this potential, serving as a laboratory for piloting innovative approaches to support local...
The university is an educational institution fostered at developing and sharing the human knowledge through a socio-cultural system of physical spaces, services and people. Its long history and diachronic evolution are deeply interconnected with the hosting urban environment, representing an attractor for temporary communities of students, scholars, researchers, professors, with specific needs...
This research provides critical insights into the origins, development and practices of university-led urban development, which has emerged in the UK in the past two decades, from a rapid expansion of HE institutions and their physical imprint, the campus. Based on a multi-disciplinary review of existing scholarship on university campuses, novel empirical research is presented from case...
Digital communications, driven by information and communication technologies, have brought new opportunities and challenges in the complexity of collaboration. Communication is at the heart of collaborative planning theory and practice, emphasising dialogue, network, equality, and consensus building among wider stakeholders in the planning arena (Susskind et al. 1999; Healey 1997; Forester...
Numerous studies have highlighted the global impacts of climate change on heritage, such as flooding, sea-level rise, and drought (Orr et al., 2021). In urban contexts, heritage encompasses both tangible and intangible elements, such as historic centres and buildings as well as local traditions and expressions (UNESCO, 2017). It is intrinsically linked to values, socio-economic processes, and...
Despite growing evidence highlighting the importance of mixed income developments, there is limited knowledge of which mixed-income subsidized housing developments contribute more or less determining nearby property values. This study address this gap by examining the impacts of mixed-income subsidized housing developments at various types on nearby apartment property values in Seoul, Korea....
The Birrarung, also known as the Yarra River, located in Victoria, Australia, flows for 242 kilometers from the mountains of north-east Melbourne down through the heart of Melbourne city, out into the bay. The Birrarung is known to the original Wurundjeri people as the 'river of mists and shadows’. Colonization and development of the greater Melbourne area have led to the straightening and...
With the expansion of urban scales and the increasing intricacy of urban population composition, the organization of urban functions and the formation of sub-markets have become increasingly diverse and complex, driven by the growing diversity of urban living demands. Traditional land use strategies are increasingly challenged, and the interplay effects among multiple-function combinations are...
Global climate change has led to an increase in extreme heat events, affecting urban mobility, particularly bike-sharing systems, which are crucial for sustainable urban development. Although the built environment has a considerable influence on bike-sharing usage, there is limited research on its impact on urban mobility resilience (UMR) of bike-sharing. This study investigates the effect of...
Driven by information technology, digital platforms are increasingly integrated into urban life through navigation services, social connections, and consumer services, leading to profound transformations in urban and social spaces. These changes are also closely linked to the gentrification process.
Taking Weibo, one of China’s most popular social media platforms, this study aims to explore...
The only world cultural heritage site in Eritrea, the so-called African Modernist City – Asmara, bears testimony to the “[..] early modernist urbanism at the beginning of the 20th century and its application in an African context”, says UNESCO in its official website. The statement continues to describe the city as a synthesis of modernist ideas on urban planning and its materialisation on...
The rate of homeownership in Turkey has shown a decreasing trend from 71% in 2004 to 57.5% in 2021, despite policies encouraging home ownership. The decrease in the homeownership rate in Turkey has been discussed over housing sales, high vacancy rates and the lack of first-time homebuyers, yet multiple homeowners are also the ones who need consideration in Turkey. This study argues that...
The growing pressures related to urbanization and environmental challenges, including climate change and intensive land use, make attention to underground spaces crucial as a strategic resource for future cities. Usually analyzed in two dimensions, our metropolises are growing in depth without real structured volumetric urban planning: a systematic criterion for analyzing and understanding the...
Flood risk management (FRM) in the Netherlands is historically rooted in a protectionist discourse, driven by large-scale interventions in the 20th century to mitigate fluvial and coastal flood risks (Kaufmann et al., 2018). However, the growing impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events and rising sea levels, have intensified calls for more adaptive policies. These policies are...
A key challenge for territorial cohesion is to cope with the increasing marginalization and inequalities brought by urbanization. The “inland areas” discourse is today fostered by academic literature and policies to describe areas remote from the delivering of services such as health, education, and mobility while overcoming the connotation of “rural” in dichotomy with urban centres. These...
Background
Heritage communities possess the dual attributes of both cultural heritage and residential communities. In Shanghai, traditional lane-house-based heritage communities face building decay and social decline, as well as risk dilemmas during renewal. The bonds among community residents and their sense of community identity are increasingly being challenged. Against this backdrop,...
Mobility challenges faced by people with disabilities are becoming increasingly prominent in many cities worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Promoting the travel behavior of people with disabilities plays a decisive role in maintaining social equity and shaping inclusive cities. While many governments have implemented measures to create accessible cities, there remains a gap in...
Üsküdar, a strategically located district on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, is one of the city's most densely populated areas, with a population of approximately 600,000 residents. Known for its robust educational infrastructure, featuring over 200 schools and kindergartens, it has become a highly sought-after area for families seeking to raise and educate their children. In 2024, the...
Accessibility and inclusivity are essential components of contemporary urban planning, yet urban transportation systems often fall short in addressing the specific needs of pregnant women. This study explores how urban accessibility, focusing on walkability and public transportation, influences the mobility, health, and well-being of expectant mothers, contributing to evidence-based urban...
Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges facing cities today, posing significant risks to communities and the built environment. In response, many cities worldwide have begun to implement adaptation policies aimed at helping communities and urban systems enhance their resilience. This paper raises an important question: how fairly are adaptation policies and their practical measures...
In an era of planetary crisis, urban planning is increasingly confronted with the challenge of moving beyond extractive development models to foster new ecologies of care and relational urbanism. As cities attempt to integrate environmental concerns into regeneration strategies, urban agriculture is often instrumentalized within top-down greening policies, serving as a compensatory tool rather...
The topic of urban beauty is often addressed superficially; certainly, it is under-discussed. Today, a long architectural and compositional tradition still heavily influences the perspectives and value judgments of experts, leading to the tendency to believe that the experience of beauty is confined to the physical, visual, and compositional characteristics of the built environment....
Urban green spaces significantly influence walking behaviour, offering both physical and mental health benefits. However, existing research often relies on static, residence-based measures of green exposure, overlooking the dynamic nature of individuals’ daily mobility patterns. This study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between green space exposure and walking behaviour, with...
Cities across the globe are actively working to reduce their carbon footprint, with a common approach being the development of neighbourhood and district level pilots. However, whilst such interventions are well meaning and grounded in a will to reduce the city’s carbon impact, the data to validate and inform such approaches is often lacking. To this end, many cities rely upon city-wide carbon...
Urban rights, as developed in the United Nations' New Urban Agenda (2016), prioritize the values of inclusivity, sustainability, and equitable access to urban resources. Cities not only function as spaces for governance and economy but also for social encounter and exercising one's rights. The agenda foresees urban spaces in which all citizens, regardless of their legal and economic status,...
In 2004, an urban transformation process started in Maltepe district of Istanbul, with the Master Development Plan prepared by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for our neighbourhoods Gülsuyu and Gülensu. Gülsuyu and Gülensu are two adjacent gecekondu neighbourhoods that have been politically active. The year 2024 can be considered as a turning point for Istanbul since it was the beginning...
The linkage of degrowth and planning has been increasingly acknowledged in the last few years, not only for the sake of facilitating degrowth transition, but also for the transition of urban planning into a practice better aligned with the socio-ecological needs of today’s world (Xue, 2021; Xue and Kębłowski, 2022). Literature on urban degrowth provides key principles of spatial organization...
Desert cities are not new. Knowledge for effective planning with good amenity is ancient, but has been forgotten. This paper adopts a desktop analysis of crucial criteria for desert city planning and attempts to create a typology of law, policy and governance. It then critically assesses this criterion against sound planning practice vis-à-vis that which can work for desert city planning,...
The extent to which urban design is part of planning education can vary between countries and even within a country between specific university programmes. The mode of teaching urban design (studio project versus lecture) can also vary (Faga, 2019). Being educated as a planner in Germany where urban design is a key part of planning curricula, it always surprised me that this can be different...
The application of urban design theories and methods in a studio setting if fundamental in planning curricula as it allows us to test and visualize the physical and spatial implications of what planners generate through policies, programs, zoning, and land use regulations. However, the role of these studios is threatened. Planning’s move towards the social sciences shifted interest towards...
This paper focuses on the creation and implementation of a post-professional graduate program on urban development and design at UNSW, the Master of Urban Development and Design (MUDD).
The program was conceived with the conviction that urban design only has purchase on the reality of city making as an integral component of urban development. The complexity of this interrelationship demands...
Cities in transition are urban environments undergoing profound transformations to address some of the most pressing global challenges, including climate change, socio-economic inequality, rapid urbanization, and the urgent need for sustainable development. These cities aim to become more resilient, inclusive, and environmentally conscious by reconfiguring their systems, structures, and...
This paper investigates how integrating domestic design principles into public urban spaces can foster more inclusive, socially connected, and livable cities. The concept of Urban Domesticity adapts elements of the private sphere—such as resting, caregiving, and leisure—into urban environments, addressing the lack of accessible amenities and promoting urban livability. Inspired by Team 10’s...
Indian cities are transitioning towards more modernist, techno-managerial, and capital-intensive approaches to understanding and managing urban ecologies under national flagship programs such as the ‘Clean India Mission-Urban’ and the ‘Smart Cities Mission.’ While these transitions are deemed normative pathways for achieving ‘sustainable development’ and addressing the ‘polycrisis’ cities are...
As evidenced by the popularity of proposals to implement city-wide traffic speed limits (typically 30 km/h or 20 mph), lowering urban speed limits is increasingly acknowledged as a key measure to foster inclusive streets, improve liveability and reduce the environmental impacts of motorised traffic (Yannis and Michelaraki 2024). By diminishing the “radical monopoly” of motorised traffic on...
Urban sprawl and gentrification have become important forces shaping Malaysia's urban landscape, especially in culturally rich cities such as George Town, Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. With the rapid development and modernization of these cities, traditional communities are increasingly displaced due to rising property values, redevelopment projects and the expansion of tourism. This shift has...
Urban residential segregation is a widely studied concept, broadly defined as the spatial separation of social and economic groups within cities. This phenomenon stems from historical, economic, political, and cultural factors, varying in form across different regions (Dadashpoor & Keshavarzi, 2024). Generally, it manifests in two ways: the concentration of affluent residents in gated...
The anthropogenic activity resulting from urbanization has significantly contributed to biodiversity loss (Das et al., 2024) and part of this transformation involves buildings, streets, and sidewalks. Urban biodiversity studies frequently investigate the relationship between the degree of urbanization and its effects on species (Yang et al., 2023). Particular attention has been given to the...
The movement of goods is integral to the daily lives of households and the operations of businesses, influencing the development of cities. In high-density urban areas such as Shanghai, China, trucks serve as the primary agents of goods transportation, yet they confront strict constraints. Studying the behavior patterns of urban freight car flows can reduce costs and enhance efficiency within...
Urban planning is traditionally concerned with envisioning urban futures across different temporal horizons, scales, and value systems. ‘Official imaginaries’ refer to narratives and discourses in policy and planning documents, such as strategic plans, masterplans, and sustainability policies, which shape official discourses directly or indirectly. In urban planning, they reflect dominant...
The work is part of the European Union-Next Generation EU funded research on Urban green infrastructure, policies related to green spaces, and health outcomes. Starting from a dialogue among town planners, geographers, and public health specialists, the project examines potential relationships between specific diseases and the spatial organization of green areas in several medium-sized Italian...
Europe is recognised as the fastest-warming continent where the temperatures are rising twice compared to the global average rate and the summer of 2024 was the hottest (C3S, 2024) causing a negative impact on people´s health, city functions, nature and economy (Aboulnaga et al., 2024; Tong et al., 2021). Thus, areas with urban heat islands (UHI), as the most vulnerable areas to heat waves in...
Global climate change presents a growing challenge, as frequent extreme heat events increasingly harm urban environments. Urban heat resilience refers to a city's capability to respond to extreme heatwaves. As urbanization accelerates and city scale expands, addressing these challenges will require firm solutions and careful consideration of heat resilience. Prior studies explored several...
Over the last decades, many historic cities have experienced major transformation as a way to improve urban infrastructure to facilitate the flow of goods, people and ideas, generating the environment of citizens' everyday life (Larkin, 2013). Among the strategies to better position the city worldwide, there are the expansion of metro lines and the involvement of high-profile architects (Augé,...
This research responds to a planning exception for urban heritage sites in China, in which, differentiated from the mainstream pro-growth ideologies, socio-cultural sustainability has been declared as a priority over economic growth. This planning exception suggests the potential that urban heritage sites have in encouraging urban planners to embrace post-growth ideas in China, which have not...
Urban areas are expected to accommodate more than two-thirds of the global population by 2050. This necessitates climate protection and adaptation strategies to ensure their long-term resilience and sustainability. Despite the need for a holistic approach to urban infrastructures in municipal governance, current literature and practice often lack an integrated perspective on these systems,...
Co-producing knowledge with urban communities within a community-engaged research framework is crucial for developing effective indicators and strategies to achieve just urban transitions, which is the fusion of climate action and justice concerns at the urban scale. While the concepts of co-production and actionable knowledge are prevalent in sustainability discourse, their intersection with...
In recent decades, co-design and co-production working methods have been increasingly developed and tested in planning and architecture as an alternative approach to spatial production. These are still individual pilot projects. At the same time, the question of promoting this approach in education is being discussed and projects are being carried out in various living lab settings.
The...
The paper presents methodology and preliminary results of a Urban Living Lab (ULL) in the area of Bagnoli-Coroglio, Naples, South of Italy. The Return Bagnoli-Coroglio ULL has been organized in the frame of the Extended Partnership PE3 RETURN project, within the activities of the Spoke TS1-Urban and Metropolitan Settlements, with the objective of involving stakeholders in a shared process able...
Urban metabolic risk refers to the cumulative negative impacts of urban metabolism, which undermine quality of life and create significant challenges for urban regeneration initiatives. In the context of post-growth urbanism, this concept offers a lens to explore how urban metabolisms can be reconfigured to sustain ecological balance and social equity, moving beyond growth-driven models of...
The importance of lifestyle in predicting individual and groups of individuals’ behaviours has been widely recognized across various fields, including transport studies, urban planning, and public health. Research on mobility lifestyles aims to inform interventions and policies that promote sustainable and health-conscious transportation choices in cities. Lifestyles shape mobility and...
- Introduction
In a society with a declining population, significant changes are required in the large metropolitan areas that have been consistently expanding since the end of the Second World War. Optimizing the scale of conurbations is an urgent issue to ensure that our living environment is safe, secure, and sustainable (Dunham-Jones & Williamson, 2011). In this context, there is much...
Heritage, although often framed as a notion associated with the past, can also be understood as a paradigm shaping contemporary society and influencing the future. While our perception of the urban environment is largely conditioned by binaries such as culture vs. nature, human vs. nonhuman, and center vs. periphery, these dualities not only reflect conceptual divisions but also underscore the...
The exploration of drivers behind space provision, particularly public space, and the extent to which they are influenced by past (often colonial) ideas and concepts is an area of great interest to Global North and South scholars (Webster, 2007; Carmona et al, 2008; Lara-Valencia & García-Pérez, 2013; Rigolon et al, 2018; Low & Iveson, 2019). This presentation looks at processes of land...
The Study attempts to explore the Urban planning and the incorporation of indigenous land governing institutions in the Urban land governance of the Shillong city. Shillong is the capital city of the state of Meghalaya situated in North-eastern part of India. About 86% of the population in the state consists of indigenous people of three major tribes namely Garo, Khasi and Jaintia. The city of...
In this paper I look back on the process of writing a handbook, intended to introduce the discipline of urban planning to bachelor’s and master’s students in Flanders and Brussels (Belgium). For many of these students, particularly those enrolled in programmes of architecture or geography, this handbook serves as their sole introduction to the field within their curriculum. The challenge was...
Research Background
Urban and regional carbon neutrality is fundamentally a sustainability issue (Park, 2023). Carbon neutrality cannot be deemed successful if it results in economic decline or diminished social equity. Fossil fuel-based energy systems are inherently incompatible with growth models that promote sustainable development. Consequently, considerable attention has been devoted to...
The Gezi Uprising started as a localized urban protest against the redevelopment plans for Istanbul’s Taksim Square, which sought to convert Gezi Park, a public space, into a private commercial development. In the context of post-2008 urban uprisings against austerity urbanism worldwide, the Gezi protests quickly evolved into a nationwide mobilization against the government’s authoritarian...
This study examines urban rail transit usage in Istanbul, offering critical insights into the challenges faced by developing countries in integrating transit infrastructure with rapid urbanization. Using regression models based on the node and place characteristics of rail stations (Bertolini, 1996), the research evaluates factors influencing passenger dynamics at rail stations between 2017...
Urban strategies for energy transitions have been largely driven by the decarbonisation imperative in response to global concerns for climate change. Mainstream research, with its emphasis on the development potential of renewables, energy balances, energy efficiency and financial models, as well as international policies supporting the replication potential of specific transition components...
In the age of planetary crisis, factors influencing urban development have become increasingly intricate. A deep understanding of complexity is crucial for accurately assessing these factors. The influence of complexity theory on urban and planning studies has long been recognized. Complexity theory, which took shape in the 1940s, has provided a foundation for complex theories of cities (CTC)...
Security is a fundamental and universal human need, yet the perception and importance of it continuously evolve alongside societal changes and urban development. As cities grow and become more complex, the factors influencing our sense of security are constantly shifting. In modern urban environments, security is no longer defined solely by the presence of law enforcement or the absence of...
The paper frames selected spatial questions linked to the ‘pandemic shock by Covid-19’ into the
transition studies and spatial turn literature. Specifically, the research focuses on socioeconomic
conditions related to the tourist sector in Milan, Florence, Rome before and after the Covid-19
crisis, to investigate if and which spatial effects were produced by the pandemic, by a...
As the most common public space, urban street is not only an important carrier of people's daily activities, but also a direct reflection of the quality of urban environment and social inclusion. In the face of the multiple challenges of global climate change, resource crisis and social inequality, optimising the spatial quality of urban streets has become a key issue to enhance environmental...
This study investigates the interplay between walking, urban vitality, and the distinction between static (residential) and dynamic (activity-based) exposures in urban environments. Using GPS tracking data from participants in Palma de Mallorca, we examine the vitality of spaces encountered during walking trips compared to residential environments. The findings reveal that walking...
Climate change significantly impacts urban water systems through rising sea levels, erratic rainfall patterns, and increased occurrences of floods and droughts. This research, conducted by the UNESCO Chair in Urban Resilience at the University of Southern Denmark in collaboration with the UNESCO Urban Water Division, analyzed the urban water focus in 194 Nationally Determined Contributions...
Senmeng Hao
College of Cultural Relics and Art, Hebei Oriental University
As cities face rapid urbanization and escalating environmental challenges, the protection and creation of urban wilderness areas have emerged as critical strategies for achieving ecological balance and sustainable urban development. Urban wildernesses—natural spaces within or near urban centers that remain minimally...
Metropolitan regions and metropolitan areas have been the subject of empirical urban systems research for many years. In contrast, the focus on small and medium-sized cities has been more recent, primarily through regional case studies and theoretical-conceptual analyses. Europe-wide comparative empirical analyses are rare and often unsuccessful due to a paucity of available small-scale data....
In the face of the ecological threats that are challenging today's inhabited territories, the agrarian question has nowadays been fully incorporated into the international urban debate and has become one of the privileged topics of discussion. This is certainly not the first time in history that urbanism has taken an interest in agriculture. However, the emergence of the agro-industrial system...
For a long time, urban studies on migration have relied on binary distinctions such as formal/informal, local/outsider, ‘host’ communities/‘incoming’ migrants, inclusion/exclusion, norm/exception, and emergency/ordinariness. Among these, the polarized contrast between permanence and temporariness stands out: permanence is often regarded as the condition to aspire to, while temporariness is...
The sixth special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)highlights uncertainty regarding whether the rise in fatalities is due to more landslide events or increased human activity. The Hindu Kush Himalaya exemplifies the convergence of climate change and urbanization impacts on landslide risk. While urban expansion may increase the vulnerability of the Himalayan...
Urban areas are dynamic and complex landscapes where the effects of urbanization on vegetation are influenced by socio-ecological processes across multiple scales. Urbanization significantly impacts vegetation and land use, driving the fragmentation of green-blue areas and biodiversity loss. Understanding urban biodiversity is critical for protecting ecosystem services (ES); however,...
Over the years, the Government of Québec has granted Québec municipalities extensive monetary levy powers. Aiming to enhance their autonomy and recognize their role as proximity governments, the provincial government provided municipalities with general taxation and regulatory charges powers in 2018 (Tremblay-Racicot et al., 2023). In 2023, additional powers were introduced, enabling...
The transition to clean energy systems is key to meeting carbon neutralisation targets. Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) emerged to promote local energy autonomy and flexibility. PEDs present an energy transition roadmap multifaceted with social, spatial, and technical aspects. Social aspects include the identification of stakeholders and initiating community collaboration. Establishing energy...
Worldwide, there is an unprecedented rise in demand for space dedicated to production, transportation, and storage of goods. Urban theorist Neil Brenner (2019) proposed the overarching term operational landscapes to capture the dynamic nature of these spaces and their increasing role in defining urban and peri-urban areas. Studies on the spatial (land) transformation entailed by operational...
Australian cities are generally large and sprawling, predominantly located in coastal zones—thus vulnerable to several climate change impacts, including but not limited to floods, storm damage, cyclones and bushfire. In addition to climatic vulnerability, Australia has some of the largest and most unaffordable housing in the OECD. The 4 million people conurbation of South East Queensland...
Climate change is one of the most significant challenges facing humanity on a global scale. Addressing environmental degradation and sustainability challenges requires not only the efforts of governments and large corporations but also the active participation of individuals and communities in developing innovative solutions. This paper presents findings from GreenHack, a student hackathon...
Coastal areas have long been important to human settlement due to access to trade networks and food. Today, approximately 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas—an estimated 2.15 billion people. Along with residential development, coastal areas are home to highly developed infrastructure systems and trillions of dollars in private property assets. In the face of sea level rise...
While urban areas remain home to most of the global population, the countryside is increasingly becoming a preferred place of residence, even in some developing nations such as China. The potential benefits and challenges for rural development posed by this counter-urbanisation trend make it essential to monitor its extend and progression. However, In China, statistical data on this phenomenon...
The baby boomer cohort, which makes up around a quarter of Germany's population, is gradually retiring. Individual time budgets are changing radically as a result; activities that were previously assigned to ‘recreation’ and ‘leisure’ (e.g. active sports, shopping, excursions) determine everyday behaviour and mobility. Additionally, the advancing digitalisation of almost all areas of life is...
This research addresses the dynamic transformations and interventions in urban spaces, tackling urban, environmental, ecological, and social challenges. These challenges often limit the ability of urban residents to influence city planning and design decisions, underscoring the critical need for active civic participation. The concept of the right to the city advocates for residents’ direct...
In today's multi-crisis era, cities face increasing climate change impacts, environmental degradation, social and economic inequalities, and urban shocks. Traditional planning approaches often fall short in responding to these rapid and unexpected challenges. The growing need for data-driven, agile, and innovative solutions underscores the importance of real-time urban data as the backbone of...
The planning project has always been perceived as values-driven as result of the profession’s claimed ability to act in the Public Interest. Ethical matters have received significant scholarly attention and are enshrined in codes of practice such as professional charters. Yet, in countries such as the UK, the modus operandi of planning has changed profoundly in the last decade. Research...
The built environment constitutes one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Strongly mitigating the negative climate impacts of buildings and infrastructure can therefore offer opportunities to move towards more sustainable and climate resilient futures. Lowering the overall energy needs of the built environment, as well as better coordinating the energy demand and supply of...
In the context of accelerating urbanization and escalating environmental challenges, the concept of the Viability City emerges as a transformative urban ecosystem, envisioned as a living, adaptive, and regenerative organism. Grounded in Hartmut Bossel’s systems thinking and Stefano Mancuso’s ecological philosophy, this model introduces an analytical framework employing a comprehensive set of...
Abstract
The three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social (Norman & MacDonald, 2004), demand innovative evaluation methods at urban and territorial scales. Within this framework, the Horizon Europe project VARCITIES (Varcities – Future Cities, n.d.) explores the implementation of Visionary Solutions (VS) aimed at fostering future green cities and enhancing citizen...
The combination of the two natural features of riverside coasts and mountain ranges is a relatively common geographic environment in urban settlements (Kim, Kim&Joo, 2024), and riverfront mountain landscapes have become one of the most important spatial vectors for highlighting the city's distinctive style and image due to their unique geographic location advantages and morphological features....
Universal Design is focusing on the seven principles addressed by Story, Mueller and Mace (1998) in North Carolina State University Center for Universal Design, for enhancement of inclusivity for various fields and scopes of design. Some of those principles are; principles of perceptible information, simple and intuitive use and size and space for approach and use, especially need enhancements...
Investigations into water systems have seen a renewed emphasis in recent times. Brought on by a diverse range of issues from water scarcity, urban flooding, ecological damage due to human processes, and rising sea levels, water has become an increasingly pertinent research topic. Firstly, this research project intends to investigate a methodology of how we understand and visualise water...
How our cognitive system perceives the form of landscape, which then influences our emotions and behaviour, depends strongly on how we move. The observer's position and the chosen transportation mode affect the potential sensational input, which, in turn, through positive or negative reception, influences the behavioural responses and, as a consequence, becomes one of the elements which...
Over the last 30 years, significant research consolidated the Walkability Indexes in measurements of the pedestrian-friendly built environment (Dovey, 2020; Frank et al., 2021; Moura et al., 2017). These studies provide robust evidence of the benefits of walkability, highlighting its benefits on health, quality of life, and environment (Lowe et al., 2022). Such contributions underscore...
Marseille is situated in a dry region lacking water courses and groundwater reservoirs. Despite such scarcity, the city benefits of an abundant freshwater supply of the best quality. The Canal del Marseille is the 1800s infrastructure that allows this by extracting water from the Durance river – an artificial system replicated at a bigger scale and integrated by the Canal EDF, the Canal de...
The topic of Urban Water Management has experienced a major shift in recent decades, driven by increasing environmental awareness and evolving social expectations. This shift marks a paradigmatic change, offering an opportunity to restore rivers to a central role in urban development, reflecting their historical interdisciplinary significance and multiple values. From being resources...
Since the late 20th century, coastal cities worldwide have initiated efforts to regenerate and redevelop their waterfronts. This was driven by shifts in the maritime industry, particularly the rise of containerization, which left many former industrial and port areas characterized by underutilized land and infrastructure (Bruttomesso, 2001; Girard et al., 2014; Hein, 2016). In response, major...
Stormwater management has become increasingly complex in recent years as the challenges posed by climate change and urbanization have escalated, resulting in flooding, water pollution and water scarcity. To address this issue, China has been proposing a sponge city strategy since 2013, aiming to improve the sustainability and resilience of cities through sustainable water management practices....
In the face of pressing social and environmental challenges, experimental interventions – such as real-world laboratories, urban living labs, niche experiments and demonstration projects – are increasingly being recognised as important drivers of transformative urban change. In particular, experiments with co-creative governance are expected to trigger learning processes that challenge...
The spatial dimension, distribution, and organization of property significantly influence urban dynamics and the political capacity to implement regenerative programs as well as their types. Beyond abstract planning concepts and strategic intentions, property owners of buildings and land ultimately hold direct power and control over the built environment. From this perspective, ownership...
Following four decades of reform, China has lifted millions out of poverty. However, the social costs of the country’s growth-oriented agenda have long been scrutinised, with phenomena such as rapid urbanisation being one of the most transformative forces in this process. Under the umbrella of urban regeneration and quality of life improvements, state-led projects have been criticised for...
Over the last few decades, there has been a significant surge in academic studies on nature-based solutions (NBS), driven by the urgent need for transformative action to address planetary crises such as climate change and ecological degradation. Yet, what is meant by nature in NBS research? While definitions of NBS are commonly referenced in the literature, the concept of “nature” itself is...
The Grand Paris Express (GPE) is an extension of the Parisian underground rail network. For its proponents, it is both a transportation and an urban development project, in support of the restructuring of Parisian peripheries around the future stations. GPE amounts to 200 km of new railways, 68 new stations and an estimated cost of 44 billion Euros. Société des Grands Projets (SGP) is the...
Turkey has been significantly affected by earthquakes throughout its history. However, awareness and institutional responses to disasters underwent a major turning point after the 1999 Marmara earthquake, particularly as the country's main economic hub was impacted. More recently, on February 6, 2023, the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes struck eleven provinces in southeastern Turkey, causing major...
This paper discusses the approaches, challenges and suggestions built environment practitioners have regarding the implementation of place-based policies. Place-based policies have been thought of and implemented in the past two decades in diverse disciplinary fields. Economic development and urban economics have been at the forefront of this discussion and approach, focusing on impact and...
According to feminist theorists (Federici, 2017, 2019; Hollanda, 2018; Kern, 2019; Lugones, 2020) and scholars from urban disciplines (Col·lectiu Punt 6, 2019; Falú, 2020; Hayden, 1980; Horelli, 2017; Horelli and Damyanovic, 2019; Huning et al., 2019; Tavares, 2015), the structure and design of our cities exclude women due to highly unequal societal and non-representative power structures, as...
As heating is responsible for about half of the world’s total energy consumption, the heat transition is an important part of efforts to mitigate climate change. In the Netherlands 90% of the households depend on natural gas for heating their homes. Phasing out natural gas has therefore become a central policy objective in Dutch climate policy. Part of the Dutch heat transition strategy is a ...
As the world population living in cities continues to increase –expecting its current size to double by 2050– the need to consider the more-than-human as an integrative part of urbanization, inspiring broader thinking about ecological processes and human-nature relationships, has become more pressing. Alongside the capacities and resources that all levels of government and society need to...
Heritage-led regeneration is often promoted as a pathway to sustainable and equitable urban transformation, yet its implementation frequently raises critical questions about whose heritage is being prioritized and to what ends. This paper examines these tensions through a critical analysis of the Seventeen Nineteen project in Sunderland, UK. The proposed renovation and conservation of this...
As planning emerged as a profession, the education and training of aspiring planners in universities has become a hallmark of this recognition. This has always involved debates and sometimes tension between the expectations of professional bodies (initially for architecture and engineering before the establishment of planning professional bodies) and the pedagogic principles of host...
The concept of urban shrinkage originates from the stagnation or recession of population, economy, and land use in the process of de-industrialization in Germany. The various shocks faced by the post-growth era made urban shrinkage gradually become a common challenge facing the world. Unlike simple population loss, the shrinkage of non-core cities in urban agglomerations is more manifested as...
The proposed contribution argues for stronger integration of the theoretical notion of place in planning against multiple current challenges. It revisits established and novel conceptual readings of place and outlines its implications for planning, arguing for the theoretically informed use of the place notion as instrumental in planning better cities for people.
Cities have undergone...
In the context of planning, sustainable development is a ubiquitous yet vague goal which can be pursued through a broad range of policies and policy mixes (Griggs et al., 2017; Gunder & Hillier, 2009). Neither of these policies are unavoidable or self-evident. Rather, they represent conscious or unconscious choices, determined by different knowledges, path dependencies, institutional...
Modern urban transportation systems prioritize efficiency and precision, often overlooking resilience and adaptability under extreme events. While transit-priority policies have gained global recognition, their systemic value in emergency response remains underexplored. This study re-evaluates the role of urban public transit—particularly buses—in extreme scenarios, emphasizing their potential...
The relationship between emergency management, emergency planning and spatial planning is undeniable, although differing perspectives on the conceptualization of planning tools and spatial aspects within them make it highly controversial. By its very nature, spatial planning aims at governing changing territories, while emergency planning tends to develop strategies that assume the environment...
With the rapid urbanization and increasing population mobility, cities worldwide are facing severe challenges related to segregation and inequality (Florida, 2017). A diverse population composition is vital for fostering social cohesion within urban areas (Moro et al., 2021). **Income segregation, stemming from the uneven spatial distribution of income groups, could profoundly undermine urban...
Entrepreneurial activities are embedded in space (Reuschke et al., 2015; Welter, 2011; Wright & Stigliani, 2013), and for women in particular, these activities are often deeply intertwined with local communities, networks and available spatial resources at the neighborhood level (Ekinsmyth, 2011; Hanson, 2003, 2009). Space embeddedness is crucial for women’s personal and professional support...
Walking has gained importance as a travel mode. Several public authorities are trying to improve walkability conditions of their territories, by improving the pedestrian network and public space overall. However, often the problems to be solved surmount the available budget, and a strategy is required that prioritize certain areas and/or types of interventions. In this paper, we present the...
Despite decades of debate, policies, efforts and funding dedicated to territorial cohesion within the EU, the quest for ‘development’ in long-term lagging regions is still an ongoing and largely open dilemma; a dilemma that has become even more dramatic due to the changing socio-ecological dynamics as well as the neoliberal evolution of society, economics, and politics.
This paper...
Urban greenery offers significant benefits, including mitigating air pollution, alleviating the urban heat island effect, enhancing social interactions, and improving population health. However, in urban areas, some disadvantaged populations may be relegated to less green spaces, limiting their access to fulfilling urban living conditions. Consequently, inequalities in urban greenness have...
This paper analyzes the transformations of housing policy governance in Europe, with a focus on the redefinition of housing responsibilities and the role of the actors involved. The focus is on the comparison between Italy and France, two countries that, albeit at different times and in different ways, detect processes of decentralization and (re)structuring of housing governance.
From a...
Recent disruptions in global food supply chains have highlighted the issue of food self-sufficiency as an important part of the public debate. While many measures of food self-sufficiency exist, the literature highlights the problem with aggregating food self-sufficiency in individual food commodities to a country's overall food self-sufficiency. This paper presents an alternative measure of...
The 15-minute city concept has gained prominence as a sustainable urban planning framework, advocating for the localization of daily activities by ensuring that essential services and amenities are accessible within a short walk or bike ride from residences. However, this concept raises a critical question: does living in high accessibility conditions inherently lead to proximity-based...
Urban design education, unfortunately, holds a marginal position within spatial planning curricula in Poland (Belof & Kryczka, 2024). This situation stems from the absence of coherent program requirements and recent (2022) formal classification of spatial planning field of study to the discipline of human geography. As a result, there has been a radical weakening of the educational links...
The growing percentage of seniors as a demographic trend presents significant societal challenges, impacting various aspects of urban life, including housing policy and spatial development (Huang, 2015). On one hand, changing housing needs—such as accessibility features, smaller units, and affordability—demand housing redevelopment (Luciano et al., 2020). On the other hand, there is an...
While there is a global push towards active mobility, many regions encounter challenges in achieving successful transformative action. Nonetheless, intriguing exceptions exist, such as in the Netherlands, where individuals adopt active modes like cycling despite adverse weather conditions. This phenomenon suggests that travel decisions are not merely considered decision but also habitual...
The extremely popular German holiday island of Sylt is the most expensive place to live in Germany. As in other holiday resorts on the North and Baltic Seas, more and more permanent housing on Sylt is being converted into temporary accommodation for tourists or second home owners. As permanent housing becomes scarcer, it also becomes more expensive. Consequently, more and more locals are being...
This presentation builds on the main findings of GoverDense, a 4-year research project examining the critical issue of urban densification and its intersection with land policy, emphasizing the often-overlooked social dimension of sustainability. By drawing on empirical data from eight case studies in the Netherlands and Switzerland, we provide a nuanced analysis of the land policy challenges...
Public transportation promotion policies are vital for reducing carbon emissions, improving public health, and fostering sustainable urban development. However, assessing their effectiveness is challenging due to inconsistent research findings and methodologies stemming from varied classification criteria (Hrelja et al., 2020). Additionally, although meta-analysis has been established as an...
Italy is highly vulnerable to seismic hazards, with historical earthquakes causing substantial casualties and economic losses. Despite this, Italian seismic risk management has traditionally prioritized post-disaster recovery instead of effective urban prevention strategies.
This approach carries significant costs, profoundly affecting territorial functionality and local communities through...
The Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis (SMH) suggests that low-income populations are often geographically separated from job-rich areas, reducing employment opportunities and longer commutes. Multimodal transportation, by integrating two or more modes of transport in a single journey, has become increasingly crucial in addressing these urban mobility challenges and mitigating the effects of such...
In some territories, food systems characterised by highly competitive agricultural productions (as for instance grape and wine) have favoured – over the last years – a cascading local development process, projecting premier wine-regions into a global market. Supported by pro-growth local and national agendas, these territories – often referred to as agro-industrial – represent, to all intents...
For Lefebvre (2001), the history of societies is etched in the urban landscape. This article explores how social and gender relations manifest within cities, focusing on the symbolic representation of women in public spaces. The presence (or absence) of female names on streets is closely tied to the ongoing struggle for gender equality and the recognition of women as active societal agents....
This paper explores the potential for a counter-hegemonic circular economy, grounded in a degrowth-planning program that prioritizes sufficiency and reduced material consumption. We investigate how the self-management of labour (autogestione) shapes workers’ sense of self and their relationship to ecology and the production process. To do so, we engage with the concept of subjectivity in...
The involvement of young people in urban development is mandated by the UN Convention and has become a normative goal in regional and urban planning. This goal resonates in particular with the debates on urban commons, which emphasize the importance of engaging young people in shaping shared urban spaces, extending the concept of commons beyond lived experiences to the domain of shared urban...
The domestic use of natural gas for heating is the prevalent option in the Netherlands. However, heat pumps will be mandatory in most Dutch households by 2026. Therefore, insights are needed in how citizens perceive this technology, by taking into account various societal, technological, economic, environmental, and political aspects. Our research offers a systematic investigation of the...
The Zero Net Land Take (ZNLT) policy has emerged as a cornerstone of sustainable urban planning, aiming to balance urban development with land conservation by 2050. Rooted in the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the Biodiversity Strategy, these policies emphasize land protection and renaturalization but allow for variability in member state implementation. This study provides a comprehensive...
**The paper is more of a reflection than a conclusive answer to the question “Should planning and politics converge around the concept of “communities of disagreement”?
The field of planning, both in theory and practice, often has consensus building as a guiding inspiration for its normative theoretical and practical development. Politics, on the other hand, is an activity characterized by...
In an age of planetary crises, the urgency for transformative climate action has never been greater. Addressing the complex social, economic and political challenges of the climate crisis necessitates deliberative approaches that engage a diverse array of actors. Such approaches must not only articulate desirable visions for sustainable futures but also identify the governance processes...
Remaining independent, active, healthy, and mobile is essential for older adults’ quality of life (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2010). However, older people’s ability to maintain their well-being as they age relies on a range of material and social factors (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2010). Research and practice have long focused on developing and implementing quality of life indicators with the goal of centering...
In recent decades, urban China has witnessed a significant shift in leisure patterns, marked by increased free time and disposable income among city dwellers. Within this context, walking has emerged as a universally appealing leisure pursuit, transcending age barriers and offering an accessible, cost-effective, and flexible form of physical activity. This rise in urban walking not only...
Since Leibniz, the conceptual construct of “possible worlds” has been widely used to understand what is thinkable, necessary, or contingent. The creation of alternate versions of reality is particularly important for whoever has to test and evaluate different choices, events and natural laws that might exist, so as to examine moral dilemmas and metaphysical questions before putting them into...
“Relationship Between Spatial Disparities, Unsustainable Food Environments and Obesity Contingency”
Due to population growth, uncontrolled urbanization, climate change and insufficient governmental supports, the food security concerns are becoming more important around the world. As a result of major global events (e.g., environmental issues, economic shocks and conflict) and...
The devastating earthquake in Türkiye on February 6, 2023, caused widespread physical destruction across eleven provinces, affecting the social and cultural structure as well. Antakya is a multilayered city in the determined zone where earthquake impacts are the most destructive. 80% of the structures in the city center of Antakya were damaged, and more than half of the population was...
Humankind is currently living in a hyper-dynamic and constant transforming environment- in the so called convergence era and 4rth industrial revolution. This level of development requires a complexity-led approach and transformations of our political, societal, economic and technological framework: the way we are living and being educated, creating new jobs and generating sustainable growth,...
The Basic Design Studio in Urban and Regional Planning education is designed as a means of developing creative thinking and spatial perception by considering design in the context of conceptual relationships. In this process, it is aimed to develop students' spatial thinking skills by deepening the basic components of design from an interdisciplinary field such as...
In the context of the pressing environmental and climate challenges, the topic of energy increasingly finds its way into spatial planning through emerging concepts such as Spatial Energy Planning or Integrated Energy Planning (e.g. De Pascali & Bagaini 2018; Stoeglehner & Abart-Heriszt 2022; Stoeglehner et al. 2016). These approaches include specific tools for analysing energy data,...
The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of application of private funds in the supply of rental housing in France, Netherlands and Germany, which are major EU member states. These countries have a long history of supply and operation of rental housing. In particular, not only the public sector but also the private sector plays an important role in the supply of affordable...
